There are a lot of obstacles to ending child labor that the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) and its nearly 40 members confront on a daily basis. Poverty, governmental indifference, educational access issues, and a lack of awareness of the negative, long-term impact of child labor on children are all big factors, but another is lack of knowledge of the scope or prevalence of the problem.
The average American consumer doesn’t understand that child labor is a pervasive problem affecting an estimated 152 million children in the world – and that’s an estimate developed before the pandemic started. We think the number has grown significantly since COVID-19 began, throwing hundreds of millions of families into deeper poverty.
We became aware of the gap between the public’s perception of the problem and the reality of situation seven years ago when the group Child Fund International commissioned a survey of over 1,000 consumers. Only one percent knew that roughly 150 million children were trapped in child labor globally. That number translates to one in 10 children. It’s staggering to think about. Even more disturbing: 73 percent of survey respondents – essentially three out of four—incorrectly guessed that the global total was less the one million. They were off by a factor of 150!
It’s hard to galvanize public and political opinion to confront a pressing social problem when few people realize the massive scope of the problem and instead misperceive it as a tiny, moribund problem. If we want corporations that benefit from child labor to take serious action, we need a better understanding of the problem’s prevalence. Governments are not likely to act or expend financial resources on programs to fix a problem perceived as affecting very few children.
We’ve been wondering if the internet and Twitter and our persistent efforts to educate the public have helped close the perception gap in the several years since Child Fund’s polling. Surveys are expensive and our budget didn’t allow us to conduct a phone-based survey like the 2013 poll. We decided to use a Survey Monkey internet poll to see where the public’s perception levels were at.
We gave respondents the opportunity to guess how many children were impacted by child labor and we offered them six answer options:
Of the 152 million children trapped in child labor, 64 million are girls [source].
73 million children are trapped in hazardous child labor—27.8 million are girls.
29 million women and girls are in modern slavery—71 percent of the overall total of enslaved individuals [source].
Women represent 99.4 percent of the victims of forced labor in the commercial sex industry [source].
Women and girls represent 84 percent of the victims of forced marriages, now categorized as a form of modern slavery [source]. There are an estimated 15 million individuals in forced marriages.
Worldwide, there are an estimated 67 million domestic workers—3/4 are women [source].
132 million girls were out of school in 2016 [source].
9 in 10 girls complete their primary education, but only 3 in 4 complete their lower secondary education [source].
In low-income countries, less than 2/3 of girls complete their primary education [source].
42 million people have fled their homes because of armed conflicts; 50 percent are women; 10 million are estimated to be girls and young women. [source]
In 2017, there were an estimated 68.5 million forcibly displaced people, including 25.4 million refugees—half are women and girls. [source]
https://stopchildlabor.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/logo-enfold.png00Reid Makihttps://stopchildlabor.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/logo-enfold.pngReid Maki2021-03-08 11:38:272021-03-08 14:58:5110 Stats about Women and Girls on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021
An African proverb says that it takes a village to raise a child, but one can also say that it takes the whole world to protect one child. Children today are faced with increasing challenges. When children should be playing, studying and enjoying their short yet foundational period of childhood they are instead subjected to exploitation, violence, hunger and various forms of slavery. The international community for decades has been making efforts to reduce inequalities and injustice for children, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) being the most recent global goals that the world has committed to achieve.
We urge the governments to continue investing at least 6% of their GDP in children’s education and provide vulnerable families and their children with social protection. –Timothy Ryan, Global March Against Child Labour
The goal that is closest to my heart and has been the driving force for me and my organization, Global March Against Child Labour is the SDG Target 8.7, which calls upon the world to end all forms of child labor by 2025. With only 5 years to achieve this compelling and challenging goal, today we are faced with yet another obstacle in our progress to end child labor – the COVID-19 pandemic which has brought the whole world to its knees.
When I first became the Chair of the Global March Against Child Labor in 2017, my hope and enthusiasm were spurred by the assurance that together as a world, we would be able to achieve the task of ending child labor by the year 2025. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic now accelerating again, I’m saddened to witness an unforeseen reversal in the progress made so far in our fight against child labor. I’m grateful that the Global March’s Board voiced its support to re-elect me in 2020 as the Chair of the world’s foremost organization fighting to end child labor at a time when all our efforts to address this scourge must be re-doubled.
COVID-19 therefore is just another stumbling block in our struggle to bring all children to school and eliminate child labor. We still have 152 million reasons not to get bogged down, to continue pressing forward and to stand up for each of the 152 million children being exploited in labor and hazardous conditions. Now is the time that we as an international community – the national leader, the district authority, the businessman, the trade union activist, the civil society member, the community representative – all come together to do our bit to ensure every child is able to enjoy his or her childhood and not let it slip away. This is the time for collective action – from moving beyond lengthy commitments and glorious speeches, to targeted, time-bound and measurable efforts, at the global, regional and local levels.
The Global March recently carried out a survey on COVID-19 and child labor with 40 of its civil society members from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The survey confirmed our fears, revealing that the world is likely to face an increase in child labor across sectors not only in the agriculture sector which is the largest employer of child labor, but also in the service sector, which will equally face an unprecedented rise in the number of working children. Girls who already face the double burden of school and household chores are predicted to be worst affected, pushing them out of school, very possibly never to return. Survey findings like these can instill a great uncertainty and concern, but this gives us yet another reason not to be daunted by the obstacles we all face in eliminating child labor.
The ILO is scheduled to issue a new Global Estimate on Child Labor next year. Whatever the numbers may be, history and this moment demand that the year 2021 is the crucial year of serious, concerted action against child laborr and not just a feel-good commemoration of work already done.
At this critical moment, on behalf of the Global March members around the world, I call upon the international community to not only keep the focus on child labor alive but to breathe new life into this effort. We urge the governments to continue investing at least 6% of their GDP in children’s education and provide vulnerable families and their children with social protection. Governments must also continue taking necessary measures to ensure continuity of education for children especially in rural areas, through remote or physical means (as per COVID-19 conditions). All stakeholders must also ensure children involved in child labour in agriculture and the service sector are protected and given their due rights to access to education. Even in normal times it is unconscionable for children to be so exploited; now in the midst of the COVID pandemic, this crisis should never be used to justify existing or increasing child labour.
This moment in time is a test for all of us. When we look back we will want to say we took measure of the daunting task in 2021 to accelerate the elimination of child labour and committed ourselves to use every avenue and tool at hand to do so.
— *Timothy Ryan is the Chairperson of the Global March Against Child Labour and the Asia Regional Program Director for Solidarity Center based in Washington D.C, USA.
https://stopchildlabor.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/logo-enfold.png00CLC Memberhttps://stopchildlabor.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/logo-enfold.pngCLC Member2021-02-05 18:08:102021-02-05 18:15:48152 Million Reasons to End Child Labor by year 2025
Of the products we use, wear, or consume every day, how many are made with child labor? Perhaps quite a few. A new report from the US Department of Labor identifies 148 different consumer goods produced with child or forced labor around the world. The list includes clothing, beef, sugar, bricks, coffee, and other products originating from 76 countries.
Gold tops the list. The report found that in at least 21 countries, children help mine gold, climbing into unstable shafts, carrying and crushing heavy loads of ore, and often using toxic mercury to process the gold. My colleagues and I have seen how dangerous this work can be, documenting the risks child miners face in Ghana, Philippines, Tanzania, and Mali.
Tobacco produced with child labor originates from at least 16 countries, placing it in the report’s top five. Child tobacco workers often labor in extreme heat, are exposed to dangerous pesticides, and risk nicotine poisoning from handling tobacco plants. In our investigations, children in the United States, Indonesia, and Zimbabwe have described nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness while working in tobacco fields.
Governments, companies, and consumers share responsibility to end child labor. Governments should monitor and enforce their labor laws and provide children with good-quality, free education.
For children old enough to work, both governments and companies should ensure their jobs do not risk anyone’s health or safety. Companies should also monitor their supply chains, report on their efforts, and when child labor is found, transition these children to school or safe alternatives.
https://stopchildlabor.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/logo-enfold.png00CLC Memberhttps://stopchildlabor.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/logo-enfold.pngCLC Member2018-09-26 13:00:172018-09-25 18:12:34Report Traces Goods Made with Child Labor to 76 Countries
