OVC Support Toolkit  >  Economic strengthening  >  Problems of Economic Responses 

Child labour

This section looks at the issue of child labour and its links with HIV/AIDS. Children and young people are being forced to work more as a result of HIV/AIDS. This is one of the problems which occur as result of responses to the economic problems faced by orphans and other vulnerable children. Another section looks in detail at issues of economic and sexual exploitation.

Key points about child labour are:

1. Most societies expect children and young people to do some form of work. This is particularly the case in developing countries. Children are expected to play a part in family work from an early age. Some tasks, such as herding of livestock are done almost exclusively by children.

2. The extent to which children and young people are expected to work appears to be increasing in developing countries. Poverty, disasters and HIV/AIDS all increase the number of children working. Working children may also be more vulnerable to being infected with HIV.

3. Some documents distinguish between child labour, which harms the child and child work, which does not.

4. Children and young people carry out a wide-variety of work. Working children are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. However, there are also benefits to children and young people from working.

5. Worst forms of child labour include prostitution, slavery, trafficking of children, debt bondage and forced labour.

6. Effective responses will seek to empower children and young people and to protect them from abuse and exploitation.

Child Work and Child Labour

Most societies expect children and young people to do some form of work. This is particularly the case in developing countries. Children and young people are expected to play a part in family work from an early age. Some tasks, such as herding of livestock are done almost exclusively by children.

Some documents, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, distinguish between child work and child labour. Child work is seen as activities which do not harm the child, whereas child labour does. However, other documents see both as forms of child labour. This section uses the term child labour to mean all forms of child work, not necessarily those that are harmful.

Much of the focus on the problems of child labour has been on paid work. However, this may not be helpful because unpaid child labour may harm the child. In fact, unpaid child labour may be more exploitative than paid labour.

HIV/AIDS and Child Labour

Until recently, there had been little direct research into the linkages between child labour and HIV/AIDS. However, this has been studied intensively in several countries in recent years. These studies show that the economic effects of HIV/AIDS are resulting in more children and young people working. This is particularly true of children and young people who have no adult to care for them. Other factors, such as poverty and disasters also increase child labour. Working children are also more vulnerable to contracting HIV infection.

Types of Child Labour

Children and young people work in a wide variety of different areas. These include:

• Providing care within a family, for example to a sick adult relative.
• Domestic work - This may be paid or unpaid and provided wither to a relative or non-relative. This is sometimes referred to as a hidden form of child labour. This is because it is not easily visible and is rarely covered by campaigns on child labour. Most of the children and young people involved in domestic work are girls.
• Different forms of agriculture - including both commercial and subsistence farming.
• Selling items on the street .
• Transportation of goods.
• Work in warehouses and factories.
• Work in the fishing industry.
• Mining.
• Work in the military.
• Selling sex. This may involve very young children.

Some forms of child labour may not always be harmful to a child, such as domestic work or agriculture. Whether or not harm occurs will depend on the conditions the child works under. However, other forms of child labour such as working as a soldier or selling sex always mean that the child involved is vulnerable to harm.

Harmful Effects of Child Labour

There are many harmful effects of child labour. These include:

• Low pay . Children and young people are often paid much less for work done than adults, for example they may only receive one quarter of adult wages. There is also evidence that increased use of child labour reduces adult wages. This is because child labour increases competition for jobs directly and indirectly by enabling more women to work.
• Long hours . Some children and young people are expected to work excessive hours, for example, up to 12-16 hours per day.
• Loss of educational opportunities . Many children and young people who work either withdraw from school or find that their educational performance declines because of the work they are doing.
• Physical harm . Working children may experience physical harm in a number of ways. These include:

  - Increased risk of accidents - children and young people often work in unregulated environments where little attention is paid to safety.

  - Assault - working children often experience violence in the workplace from adult staff and managers. Children and young people working in the street are also at risk of physical violence from police officers and other authority figures.

  - Violent theft - this is also a risk faced by street vendors.

  - Risk of illness from poor hygiene and exposure to bad weather.

  - Harmful effects of pesticides.

• Sexual abuse . This includes rape. Effects include unwanted pregnancy, sexually-transmitted infections and HIV infection.
• Abuse and exploitation . These include prostitution, slavery, trafficking, debt bondage and forced labour.

In general, girls are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of child labour than boys.

Responses to Child Labour

Many of the responses to child labour have focused on introducing laws to make child labour illegal. Sanctions have then sometimes been applied to companies which break those laws. However, there are problems with this approach. These problems include:

• Failing to clearly distinguish between harmful and non-harmful forms of child labour.
• Failing to recognise the benefits to children and their families of working. These benefits include:

  - The financial contribution made by the child to individual and family livelihoods. These can be essential for survival.

  - Learning important skills for living and earning.

  - Improving education opportunities. This may be by making funds available or by working in a place where education is provided.

  - The pride and self-esteem felt by children and young people because of the work they do.

• Failing to recognise the harmful effects of children and young people not working, particularly in situations of extreme poverty.
• Rules and regulations are usually only able to be enforced in formal employment. This forces children and young people to work in informal, unregulated work where they are more vulnerable. For example, children and young people are not allowed to work in the formal mining sector. However, many children and young people work in informal mines in appalling conditions.
• Laws which prevent children and young people from working can be used by people in authority, such as the police, to harass and physically assault children and young people who are working.

Consequently, it may be more effective to work in ways which recognise that children and young people do work in most societies and that this is an essential survival mechanism in situations of poverty. Actions could then focus on:

• Targeting abusive and exploitative forms of child labour, such as child prostitution.
• Training children and finding other ways of protecting them from risk.
• Finding new ways of educating children and young people who are working other than traditional schools.
• Supporting working children to speak and act for themselves through the formation of their own organisations and movements.

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