Research
What is going on?
Children all over the world are being forced to work unsafe jobs and labor for long hours with little pay. Children are found making various items found in our everyday lives including but not limited to; clothing, chocolate, and makeup.
"Nearly 160 million children around the world do not attend school because they must assist their parents financially."
(Kathryn Reid, "Child labor: Facts, FAQs, and how to help end it," World Vision, last modified June 22, 2021, accessed April 25, 2022, https://www.worldvision.org/child-protection-news-stories/child-labor-facts#facts.)
What is it doing to children?
Child labor deprives these children of their dignity and harms their overall development.
- Laboring causes emotional and physical distress in children, which can have a negative impact on their general well-being.
- Children lack "the competency of making informed decisions," making it hard for them to comprehend the stress of working and leaving them with trauma difficult to overcome.
Since children are spending their childhoods working rather than attending school, they are receiving an inadequate education which leaves them underdeveloped mentally.
Children are small and fragile, so working in dangerous conditions leaves children with injuries that sometimes can be life-threatening.
"Across all age groups, boys are more likely to work than girls."
(Kathryn Reid, "Child labor: Facts, FAQs, and how to help end it," World Vision, last modified June 22, 2021, accessed April 25, 2022, https://www.worldvision.org/child-protection-news-stories/child-labor-facts#facts.)
Why is it happening?
Many of the children who are victims of child labor are underprivileged and lack access to a good education.
Many children are having to work because their parents' income is not enough to support their family.
Due to modern-day capitalism, large companies are able to take control over countries with poor people and make them their workers. These companies know these people need all the money they can get, so they are able to get away with paying them barely any money.