What Are Some Facts about Child Labor?

Facts about child labor are startling and frustrating, but many people and organizations are working to end this practice. The United Nations’ Target 8.7, in its Sustainable Development Goals, says its members need to “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.”[1] Even with such a directive, however, child labor remains a thorny, complicated problem to solve worldwide.

Across the globe, about 152 million children are forced into child labor. Some companies use children to maximize their gain as children are the least expensive labor. Additionally, children have little to no bargaining power and they are easy to manipulate. Because there are so many desperately impoverished families, employers can take advantage of their dire need for extra income.[2]

Unscrupulous companies are only part of the complex problem. Desperate families who are trying to survive day to day can be some of the most unwilling to accept child labor laws, as they could remove a source of income for the family and throw them further into food insecurity or even starvation.

In some parts of the world, for example, a single child working in cotton fields can contribute as much as a quarter of a family’s income.[3] The focus of these families is frequently simply on staying alive, not seeing how sacrificing their child’s education now leads to the perpetuation of poverty in the future.[4] These facts make solving child labor much harder than simply passing some laws.


Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs in Gospel for Asia.Com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Attitude Towards Suffering

Image
In 2 Timothy 2:3, the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy, “Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Everyone, at some point or another, faces suffering, the soldier especially. However, it is not so much what we suffer, but how we suffer that matters. The way our heart responds to suffering is crucial, because by it we will either advance or become stagnant. To suffer like a good soldier is to willingly endure all for the sake of the call. To suffer like a bad soldier is to grumble when difficult situations and hardship arise. Instead of throwing our lives into what God has called us to, we can try to hold on to our lives, wanting to get away with as little suffering as possible, paying as little price as possible. We have forgotten that we are under the orders of our Master and that we willingly gave up our lives. Christ’s Example of Suffering Christ lived with the expectation of suffering. Throughout the Gospels, He repeatedly referred to
Read more

What Is the Poverty Cycle?

Image
The question, “What is the poverty cycle, or cycle of poverty?” is one that must be answered to address and end poverty across the globe. Put simply, the term refers to the trend where the vicious effects of poverty and deprivation pass from one generation to the next, with no seeming way out. [1] Someone born into poverty has fewer opportunities than their wealthier peers. They must focus on survival above all, leaving little room for anything else. One illness can wipe out a family’s savings, but the unclean water sources and lack of protection available to them invite sickness. Walking to retrieve water can be time-consuming yet must be a daily priority, and many children must work alongside their parents for the family to afford food. Thus, school is often a far-off dream. Having had few opportunities to acquire skills, the kids grow up to repeat the cycle of poverty with their own children. This story was all too familiar for Nalah. His father worked in the tea fields, trying to e
Read more

What Are the Physical Effects of Poverty on Children?

Image
Many organizations have undertaken the task of studying the multifaceted effects of poverty on children, revealing alarming statistics. According to UNICEF, a staggering number of children – around one billion – grapple with multidimensional poverty, which deprives them of access to fundamental essentials like basic nutrition and clean water. Equally concerning is the fact that 356 million children live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than $2.15 per day. This article delves into the comprehensive and lasting physical repercussions that poverty inflicts on children, from the prenatal stage to adolescence, emphasizing the significance of addressing this issue head-on. Even before a child is born, poverty exerts its influence. Madison Doser, associated with the American Human Services Association, underscores that malnutrition during pregnancy carries the potential to induce long-term health disparities in children. Notably, this can manifest in conditions such as obesity, diabetes,
Read more