Child labour

The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood,
their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental
development. It refers to work that:
is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or
interferes with their schooling by: depriving them of the opportunity to attend
school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to
combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the
child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is
performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. 
Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour. The participation of
children above the minimum age for admission to employment in work that does not
affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is
generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as assisting
in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school
holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children’s development and to the
welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to
prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life.
The worst forms of child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their
families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on
the streets of large cities – often at a very early age.
Facts about Child Labour:

Worldwide 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are in employment

In the world’s poorest countries, around one in four children are engaged in work that is potentially harmful to their health

Among 152 million children in child labour, 88 million are boys and 64 million are girls

1 in 5 children  in Africa is working in child labour

Ways to prevent child labour:
Governments must abide by internationally accepted agreements, companies must employ
adults instead of children and – importantly – consumers must not buy goods produced by child
labour.
As many as 7.8 million Indian children are forced to earn a livelihood even if they also attend
school. Many of these children drift away from the path of education completely and get end up
in child labour. This means a country has a lack of formally educated adults who can contribute
to the process of nation-building and to the country’s economic growth.
We can support journalists making discoveries that inform the public. The first simple step is to
open their article and spend more time reading it. The number of views and the time spent on
each webpage let the media outlet know what issues resonate with their audiences. We can also
share journalistic reports with friends and colleagues, helping expand the reach of the article.
Finally, we can post encouraging comments on the journalists’ social media posts to let them
know that people appreciate their discoveries.
 “No parent should ever have to look at a tiny infant and fear that one day that child would
be a victim of exploitative child labor,” John Kerry   on the World Day Against Child
said

Labor in 2016. He was right. Eradicating child labour should be a shared moral
responsibility for civil society, businesses, and governments alike. With these tangible steps,
every one of us, regardless of our professional capacities, can contribute to the end of child
labour.


#stopchildlabour