Protection Against Child Labor

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Protection against child labor

Introduction

To begin with, child labor is understood as any trade or activity that is detrimental to children’s physical and mental health, deprive them of their childhood and dignity and hinder their correct development.

The minimum legal age that children can work is between 14 and 15 years, depending on the conditions of work and the country, so if they start working at previous ages a great debate begins. Is it child exploitation? It is not? It is important to understand that not all the activities carried out by children are considered child labor and necessary to eliminate. Many minors perform home tasks, collaborate in a family job or in another trade in order to help their family and thus opt for adequate food and education. 

So when these activities are carried out outside school hours and allow children to go to school, have time to play and relate and do not jeopardize their health are considered beneficial and positive for the development of different learning and competencies in children.

Developing

With respect to the above, UNICEF (2017) differentiates two terms: children’s tasks and child labor. On the one hand, it is in favor of children and adolescents participating in activities or jobs that do not harm or harm their health. As well as they do not interfere with their personal or academic development. This UNICEF calls it children’s tasks that help or enrich children in a positive way. On the other hand, UNICEF defines child labor as a more limited concept that refers to children who work in contravention of ILO standards. 

This includes all boys under 12 who work in any economic activity, as well as those who are 12 to 14 years old and work in a more than light job, and boys and girls subjected to worst forms of workchildish. Finally, UNICEF concludes that teaching and education is essential to rescue children from child exploitation.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), it is estimated that in the world there are around 218 million children between 5 and 17 years who are victims of child labor. Of these, almost half do so in the worst conditions in a slavery regime, trafficking, forced labor, recruitment as boys and girls soldier and sexual exploitation.

Countries in the world where there is child labor. Source: UNICEF

Some of the data provided by the United Nations Children’s Fund by regions are:

  • Developed countries (industrialized): 2.500.000 of boys and girls working.
  • Countries in transition: 2.400.000 of boys and girls working.
  • Asia and Pacific contain the highest number of working children and children between 5 and 14 years old, being 127.3 million in total (19% of children who work in the region)
  • In sub -Saharan Africa there are about 48 million children who work. Almost one in three children under 15 years (29%) is economically active
  • In Latin America and the Caribbean there are approximately 17.4 children and working child (16% of children in the region work)
  • 15% of children from the Middle East and North Africa work

 

These children are in different parts of the world, but they are always invisible and most work in the agricultural sector. Some current figures worldwide established by UNICEF are:

  • Trafficking victims: 1.2 million children.
  • Victims of debt easement or other forms of slavery: 5.7 million.
  • Victims of prostitution and/or pornography: 1.8 million.
  • Recruited as children soldiers in armed conflicts: 300.000.
  • 61 million girls and boys do not go to school, many of them for having to work.

 

It is estimated that girls dedicate 550 million hours a day to domestic work, 160 million hours more than boys of the same age. This overload begins in early childhood, with just 5 years, and intensifies when girls reach adolescence.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) established on June 12, 2002 the World Day against Child Labor to make visible and raise the world of the problem so serious that it exists as exploitation and child labor is. That day was launched with the objective that different institutions (schools, government, municipalities, families …) launched action programs to fight child labor. However, there are unions of working children who fight to keep their jobs. 

They think that governments should not eliminate all children’s work, but to improve their conditions and eliminate exploitation and slavery. In Bolivia approximately 491.000 children and adolescents between 5 and 13 years work. Being this very high amount, the government chose to regulate child labor instead of prohibiting it. 

Therefore, on July 17, 2014, the child and adolescent code was approved that establishes that children have the right to work from the age of ten on their own and from 12The ILO condemned Bolivia for this, many children revealed themselves, since they work to get money to feed and go to school. 

conclusion

They stated that working was a necessity, since thanks to that they could form intellectual and personally. Likewise, they revealed themselves, since they thought that if the governments did not want them to work, they should consider any other solution to pay the school and everything related to this. So, in order to defend their right to work, they formed the union of children and adolescents of Bolivia with which they began to mobilize to avoid the abolition of child labor. 

On the other hand, it is also established in article 1 of the Code of Children and Adolescents that the prevention of child labor must be carried out both by the State and by society and the family itself. The latter must keep the child away from the working world, since it is considered detrimental to integral development and enjoyment of children’s rights.                                               

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