Child Abuse, Child Labor, & Related Issues

INTRODUCTION

“The youth is the hope of our future.” as our national hero, Jose Rizal, emphasizes in
his days of hopeful ventures. Through the succeeding years of evolution dwells the expanding
population around the world – left and right and that those certain numbers are among the core
contributors. However, before one reaches his/her respective mature stage, one must undergo
his/her youthful being.

(Pic of a child smiling) This sweet innocent smile reminds us of how great being a child
is, less worries, less hassle and just simply having fun and enjoying the beauty of life. But the
real question is, Does every child get the chance to cherish every single second of their
youthful life?

As the world continues to progress, we cannot deny the presence of problems that seem
to divide society and hinder its growth and in unfortunate shifts of tides, such problems found
their way in children’s very lives. The problems being pointed out pertains to the Children’s
depravity to a proper life. Many of which includes child abuse, child labor, and other revolving
related issues.

Today, we aim to elaborate on such issues and answer the questions in need of
emphasis especially in the lives of each and every child in the world.

Exposition:

● Child labor
Child labor is the exploitation of children who are deprived of their childhood by
work that prevents them from attending school or causes physical, mental, or
social harm.

● Child Abuse
Child abuse refers to the improper or ill-treatment of a grown-up towards a child
(physically or mentally) which may inflict pain, threat, or trauma on the latter.

● Child Trafficking
Child trafficking is an illegal holding or recruitment of children by way of
kidnapping for the purpose of exploitation. Reasons for such may include sexual abuse,
forced labor, and other grounds that benefit perpetrators.

There are prevalent cases of such issues here in the Philippines and it has turned the
sweet youthful life of some children into a nightmare. These issues can result in both physical
and mental health of an individual which oftenly continues as they enter adulthood. Let’s make
use of this clean sheet of paper, for example this paper is an innocent child and now we
crumpled it emphasizing that this child had been through child abuse or child labor. Does the
paper still look the same? It’s still a paper but the once clean plain sheet is now a crumpled and
impaired one. This is what happens to a child, he/she may still go on with his/her life but it will
never be the same again.The trauma and experiences will still be there which will forever haunt
him/her and would surely leave a scar imprinted on his/her well-being. A child is easily
influenced and has a very good memory which is why children must be protected from this
chaotic and cruel world.

ETHICAL FRAMEWORK

Now, in judging the morality of such topic, it might be helpful to put all of these issues into 2
perspectives: the deontological one and the utilitarianism one. Putting it into deontological
perspective, Kant, being considered one of the fathers of universalism, holds the categorical
imperative as the fundamental principle and moral law of ethical behavior. In connection with the
topic of Child Labor and Abuse, we can determine the morality of each action based on the 3
formulations by Kant.

First, if an act is only according to what is universally accepted (THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF
NATURE FORMULA). Now, the ethics of an action is based on a maxim whose validity would
be acceptable to all individuals, at any time and without exception. With that being said, the
likelihood of child labor to become a universal law is extremely slim. This is because we are
presuming that in child labor or abuse, there are corresponding violations of fundamental human
rights such as dignity, freedom, wellbeing and the like, and these conflict with the idea of social
welfare. Also, many types of CL cause permanent damage to body and mind, preventing most
child workers from reaching the age of 50. Hence, this action based on the first formulation is
regarded as immoral, as it cannot be universally accepted.

Second, if an act is in a way that you treat humanity not as a means/utility to achieve an end but
as if they are the end (HUMANITY FORMULA). However, child labor, in its purest form, is
already about the instrumental use of children for cheap labor and not for the end in itself or the
establishment of dignity, rather the opposite. Additionally, beating, humiliating and psychological
assault of children is opposed to any humanitarian standpoint, making the issue once again,
highly unethical.

Last, if an act, through his one’s own use of reason, will, at the same time, have that form of
universality but do not interfere with the freedom of others (THE AUTONOMY FORMULA). For
this instance, the consent of the child himself is considered upon evaluating the morality of the
child labor. Meaning, these children are able to develop reasons and make decisions
autonomously from their parents. If they are voluntarily willing to work for the benefit of the
family, this would be ethically acceptable according to Kant. However, this is not the case if the
child is underage or incapable of making his decision, which makes them dependent from their
parents, limiting their autonomy. But not only the incapability of the child can limit their
autonomy, there is also a lack of education, and poverty. All of these cases prohibited the child
to decide on their own, but rather they are “forced” due to the circumstances, likewise from the
previous formulas, the action appears to be immoral according to Kant’s three formulas of
categorical imperative.

Now, let us utilize another view, the utilitarianism perspective. Utilitarianism takes the view that
an action is ethically justifiable if the output is greater than the pain for all concerned. Ergo,
actions are acceptable, regardless of means and motives, as long as the happiness created is
greater than the pain. This is significantly different from the deontological view, as determining
the morality of the action is based on its consequence. Businesses usually conduct this kind of
study through cost-benefit analysis. So, how about we try to do our own cost-benefit analysis on
the issue of Child Labor and Abuse?

As you can see, we are analyzing 2 stakeholders, namely the child and the family. The costs or
the pain shall we say, of child labor upon the children includes; deprivation of education,
malnutrition, health problems, hazardous working environment, slave-like employment, while its
benefit or its happiness are the following: Earns income for the family, following footsteps of
parents leading towards socialization and personal development. As for the family, cost is Loss
of Long-term Income (as the child is not able to go to school and get a sustaining job) but the
benefit is Child Labor provides livelihood for the family. This evaluation is really just subjective,
so it depends on how each stakeholder outweigh the cost to its benefits.

Is it fair? Is it Legal?
Child abuse, child labor and other related issues are never fair nor legal. The people
involved on these issues are minor and are innocent or do not have any ideas whether what
was done were right or wrong. These children cannot decide for themselves.

According to the law under RA 9231 - Prohibition on the Employment of Children in Certain
Advertisements, No child shall be employed as a model in any advertisement directly or
indirectly promoting alcoholic beverages, intoxicating drinks, tobacco and its byproducts,
gambling or any form of violence or pornography. Additionally, under the RA 7610, it states that
"all children in the Philippines and Filipino children elsewhere are protected from all forms of
violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination."

Therefore, with these we can confirm that child labor, child abuse, and other related issues are
illegal and that we have a law that protects all filipino children.

This issues are also unfair to the child involved since it restricts them to their fundamental rights,
educational rights, may also lead to extreme bodily and mental harm and even death, and their
overall future.

With that being said, we have provided a framework on how we can prevent or be aware of
such issue. These are the steps on how we can combat the rising issue of child labor, abuse
and trafficking.

➢ Strengthen economic supports to families

○ Strengthening household financial security
○ Family-friendly work policies
➢ Change social norms to support parents and positive parenting
○ Public engagement and enhancement campaigns
○ Legislative approaches to reduce corporal punishment
➢ Provide quality care and education early in life
○ Preschool enrichment with family engagement
○ Improved quality of child care through licensing and accreditation
 ➢ Enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child development
○ Early childhood home visitation
○ Parenting skill and family relationship approaches

➢ Intervene to lessen harms and prevent future risk

○ Enhanced primary care
○ Behavioral parent training programs
○ Treatment to lessen harms of abuse and neglect exposure
○ Treatment to prevent problem behavior and later involvement in violence

GROUP/INDIVIDUAL VIEWS

RHEA: The aforementioned issues are very alarming and must be addressed since it affects
every aspect of an individual. A child is a fragile one that needs to be protected, handled with
care and founded with love to be molded in becoming a better person. However, the existence
of such issues hinders a child to appreciate the beauty of life and deprives him/her of feeling the
warmth of a once in a lifetime experience of becoming a child. A child is to be cherished and
valued not to be abused nor taken advantage of.

Conclusion:

First, I would like to share my personal experience with this issue. As a child abuse
survivor, caused by my father, I can attest that the trauma can result in a low sense of self-
worth, a reduced attention span, learning disorders, and an inability to relate to peers. I
frequently feel as if I can't do anything right and that I'm not good enough for anyone else. This
creates a sense of hopelessness and despair. Despite the fact that no physical pain is ever
experienced, the consequences can be just as severe and long-lasting. As a result, I always
seek the approval of my parents and guardians, which I don't always get. I was constantly put
down and attacked through words or hurtful looks/actions. This caused me to despise myself. In
some cases, I believe that I am the source of the problem. I used to believe that I was
worthless, damaged, unloved, or unwanted.

According to World Health Organization, it is estimated that up to 1 billion children aged

2–17 years have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect in the past year
(1). Childhood exposure to violence has an effect on one's health and well-being throughout life.
The safety of children is endangered. Victims are deprived of their childhood, their potential, and
their dignity, and this is detrimental to their development. Under any circumstance, they are
involved in activities that are unacceptable for children, such as the sale and trafficking of
children into debt bondage, serfdom, and forced labor as previously reported. Unlike adults,
children are innocent. It is not their fault that they are born into such a chaotic world, so they
deserve to be treated with dignity. They have every right to live life safely and create harmony.
They deserve to fulfill their dreams and live life to the fullest.

Thus, the group is in no support of any kind of violence. Violence will never be the
answer to any sought solution. We've tried to switch views pertaining to the causes and other
related actions to this problem. The group viewed this issue as a result of the apathetic actions
of the adults. A quick response, report, or any action relating to saving one's welfare could
actually save one's child but due to some lack of concern, the victim's life has prolonged agony.
Governments could be a factor also. Laws should be strongly enforced to protect victims. It
could be ordinances made by government officials with executive powers that could actually
help victims not just by punishing the abuser but also give a push to the public to report any
form of child abuse and other related issues. The group is advocating reporting any actual
notice or knowledge of abuse and encouraging everyone to be kind and show concern for
everyone.

References:

Child labour in the Philippines (ILO in the Philippines). (n.d.).

https://www.ilo.org/manila/areasofwork/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm

Violence against children. (2020, June 8).

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-children

What is Child Labor? | The University of Iowa Labor Center. (n.d.).

https://laborcenter.uiowa.edu/special-projects/child-labor-public-education-project/about-child-

labor/what-child-labor

Gawronski, B. and Beer, J.S. (2016) What Makes Moral Dilemma Judgments “Utilitarian” or
“Deontological”? Social Neuroscience, 12, 626-632.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2016.1248787