Child Labour Facts and Solution

In 2008 there were 215 million children working illegally in the eyes of international law, almost 14% of all the world’s children under 18. This includes 115 million children under that age engaged in "hazardous work" which could threaten their safety or health. such as handling chemicals, heavy loads or enduring long hours.

The remaining 100 million child labourers are those aged under 15 - the international minimum age for legal employment – whose tasks are not hazardous but are more substantial than “permitted light work.”

Almost all child labour occurs in developing countries, with about 60% engaged in agriculture. Other occupations include domestic service, factory production and backstreet workshops. Over 25% of children in sub-Saharan Africa and 13% in Asia remain trapped within the cycle of poverty of which child labour is part.

The darkest category of child labour relates to those children caught up in criminal activities such as prostitution, military enrolment, slavery (such as bonded labour), or trafficking (which involves the removal of a child from its home, often involving deception and payment, for a wide range of exploitative purposes).

These activities are beyond the reach of statistical surveys but the numbers are likely to be over 10 million. Together with hazardous work, they are described as the "worst forms of child labour."

The small decline in the overall incidence of child labour in the four-year reporting period to 2008 is inconclusive and disappointing. The most significant change is a 31% drop in hazardous work for children aged 14 and under, but this is countered by a 20% rise amongst the 15-17 age group. Figures are gender-sensitive for the first time and suggest that child labour amongst girls fell by 15% over the four years.

WHAT ARE SOME SOLUTIONS TO STOPCHILD LABOR?

Not necessarily in this order:

1. Increased family incomes

2. Education - that helps children learn skills that will help them earn a living

3. Social services - that help children and families survive crises, such as disease, or loss of home and shelter

4. Family control of fertility - so that families are not burdened by children

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child calls for children to participate in important decisions that will affect their lives.

Some educators and social scientists believe that one of the most important ways to help child workers is to ask their opinions, and involve them in constructing "solutions" to their own problems. Strong advocates of this approach are Boyden, Myers and Ling; many children's "unions" and "movements," and the Save the Children family of non-governmental organizations.