June 12 was World Day Against Child Labor. This is the second in a series of articles exploring the state of child labor today.
The image of a child chained to a loom was emblazoned in my mind.
When I was 12, I read a news story about the murder of a child slave, Iqbal Masih, in Pakistan. This mental picture was my introduction to the existence of child labor. It’s the same type of image that tugs at us in campaigns and accompanies news stories. It’s iconic and powerful. But it’s also misleading.
A simplified image of child labor as faraway factory work masks its complicated reality. In place of a deeper understanding of child labor -- why it exists, who’s involved, what factors allow it to continue -- we have ingrained myths that blind us to solutions.
After 25 years of learning and working alongside communities and empowering children to escape the cycle of poverty, I know there are solutions to this endemic problem. First, we need to topple the myths:
1. Child labor is factory labor.
Children work in appalling conditions producing clothes they could never afford to satisfy the appetites of wealthy countries. It’s a tidy story with readily identifiable bad guys: fast fashion and unregulated capitalism. But this is not the whole story.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 70% of child laborers -- more than 105 million girls and boys around the world -- work in agriculture. The majority of those work alongside family members on subsistence farms, helping feed their families.
There’s no clear bad guy in this scenario. Poor crop output, lack of market access and the impacts of climate change all converge to imperil farmers in the Global South. But if we can build capacity for these farmers, we can ensure their children aren’t needed in the fields and can remain in school. A 10% increase in crop yield resulted in a 7% drop in poverty in Africa, so empowering farmers to grow and sell more and providing access to drought-resistant seeds, improved water systems and innovative agricultural methods can help reduce the ranks of child laborers.
2. Child labor only happens in poor countries.
Child labor is a global scourge. Africa, Asia and the Pacific regions are home to 9 out of 10 child laborers. But that still leaves millions of children across the Americas and Europe who are missing out on childhood.
In the U.S., accurate numbers for child laborers are hard to come by, but one number is indisputable: 452. That’s the number of work-related deaths among U.S. children between 2003 and 2016. More than half of those deaths happened on farms, where according to Human Rights Watch, children as young as seven are often working 10-hour days.
Gaps in labor laws have left child farmworkers open to abuse. What's more, our focus on imperiled children overseas has rendered those closer to home invisible.
3. International companies are the source of child labor.
This may have been true in the past, but today, the companies with the most buying power are the best bet to root out the worst forms of exploitation.
Human rights due diligence, a new framework demanding corporate responsibility throughout the supply chain, can help. New technologies like blockchain are making it easier to map every step of supply chains, and many companies are already adopting this new rigorous approach.
The adoption of the United Nations' Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights set a global benchmark, which some nations and states have already risen to meet. California enacted new legislation in 2012 to mandate supply chain transparency, while a 2015 law in the UK requires companies to disclose measures they’ve taken to mitigate risks of slavery.
Savvy companies will meet rising consumer demands for transparency and responsible production, not only by doing no harm but by moving the needle proactively. Successful businesses will partner with nonprofits and communities to create well-paying jobs and eliminate the extreme poverty at the root of child labor.
4. Child labor is a stand-alone problem.
Child labor is tied to poverty, access to education, women’s rights and farmer training programs. But the issue that rarely gets drawn into this web is conflict.
Rates of child labor are 77% higher in countries affected by armed conflict, compared to the global average. Recently, UNICEF reported on 180,000 Syrian refugee children who have been forced into work, while Human Rights Watch revealed a quarter of children in Afghanistan work to support their families after nearly two decades of armed conflict.
Conflict breeds vulnerability. That’s why the ILO and aid organizations are embedding child labor programs in post-conflict reconstruction development. This means increasing support for displaced families and helping restore the rule of law.
5. Child labor is unstoppable.
Finally, a myth I am happy to bust. Child labor is a maddeningly stubborn issue, but we’ve made remarkable strides.
In 2000, there were over 246 million child laborers around the world. Today, there are nearly 100 million fewer children endangered by their work. This incredible feat has been accomplished by governments, corporations and development organizations working together to change business practices, educate people about children’s rights and lift communities out of poverty.
Child labor rates are dropping, but far too slowly. We need more holistic solutions that address the root causes of the issue. For instance, UNICEF first championed a systems-based approach that focuses on prevention. It supports countries with strong laws, where children are free from exploitation, services provide for basic needs and cultural practices minimize vulnerability. But we all have a role to play.
Western governments can incentivize legal reforms and the creation of strong child protection frameworks, in line with the UN's Convention on the Rights of a Child. Businesses can enshrine accountability into their cultures and invest in their communities to ensure that services meet people’s needs and that workers are paid fairly. And nonprofits can deliver localized programs to address household poverty and access to education, motivating parents to keep their children in school.
These solutions are attainable. But first, we must topple the myths that lead to our misunderstanding of the problem.
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