What Is the Worst Kind of Child Labor Today?

The two worst kinds of child labor today are hazardous work and human trafficking. As defined by the International Labor Organization, “Hazardous child labour or hazardous work is the work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.”[1]

It goes on to describe human trafficking as including “all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances.”[2]

Approximately 79 million children (of the 160 million total) are in some form of dangerous labor situation.[3] That’s 79 million too many. It’s also very likely that this number is far underreported.

“In areas where national regulations mandate education for children within certain age ranges, the threat of legal consequences likely deters complete reporting,” GFA reported in 2019.[4] There are industries that have a marked interest in hiding these statistics.

Those under the age of 12 perform up to a fourth of all dangerous work with children, and more boys than girls are affected.[5] It can be in nearly any form of industry, but agriculture accounts for the most instances.

It is in these rural, agriculturally-based communities that GFA sends its missionaries to look for and assist children facing illegal and dangerous work. They are trained to recognize and respond to situations where a child has taken on or been given too much or too dangerous labor.


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