National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad

BS-Peace & Conflict Studies (English)

Submitted to Madam: Zunaira Khalid

By Muhammad Parvez Musharaf

Date: 26-03-2021

Child Labor
Child labor is defined by international standards as work that is hazardous, demands too many
hours, or is performed by children who are too young. It harms children mentally, physically,
socially, and morally. It interferes with their schooling, preventing them from attending or
concentrating. It may involve them being enslaved, separated from their families, and exposed to
serious hazards and illnesses. Children work because their survival depends on it, because their
parents don’t have access to decent work, because national education and social protection
systems are weak, and because adults take advantage of their vulnerability. Child labor is
sometimes the result of ingrained customs and traditions. Even well-intended practices can be
harmful, such as; the view that works is good for children because it helps them build character
and develop skills. Children used by others for profit in prostitution, pornography, or other forms
of sexual exploitation. Children forced into begging, petty crime or the drug trade. Children
forced to take part in armed conflicts. This includes not only child soldiers, but also porters or
girls taken as ‘wives’ for soldiers and militia members. Children forced to marry. When a child
doesn’t consent to a marriage, (or doesn’t fully understand consent), is exploited within their
marriage, or is not able to leave, that child is in slavery. Childhood should be a time to grow,
learn, play and flourish in safety. But, an estimated 10 million children around the world don’t
have that chance. Instead, they wake up each day trapped in modern slavery. Some have been
forced into back-breaking work in mines, brick kilns, sweatshops and private homes. Others are
forced into sexual exploitation, begging or selling drugs. And it happens closer than we would
like to think– children in the UK are often just as vulnerable to trafficking or exploitation.
Children, especially children from disadvantaged backgrounds, are particularly vulnerable to
slavery as they can be more easily manipulated or tricked than adults. They are easily controlled
and unlikely to demand higher wages or better working conditions. Globally, 152 million
children aged 5 to 17 are in child labor. About half of them (72.5 million) perform hazardous
work that places their health, safety or moral development at risk. Seven in ten children in child
labor are working in agriculture. Child labor isn’t limited to poor countries. Half of affected
children live in middle income countries. Half of children in child labor are too young to work.
The problem is more prevalent in countries experiencing conflict and disaster. A third of children
in child labor are completely outside the education system, and those that do attend perform
poorly. Some are far away from their families, while others have no one to look out for them, or
no wider support network to recognize the signs that they are being exploited. The overall
numbers are trending in the right direction. Child labor has decreased by 38% since 2000, from
246 to 152 million children. International awareness is growing, driven by globalized markets,
economic transparency, and consumer behavior.

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