Possible Solutions

Improving Rural Livelihoods 

Improving life and ensuring security for parents and families in rural areas is crucial for addressing the root causes of child labor. One effective approach involves investing in essential infrastructure such as schools and hospitals. For instance, studies in China have shown that extending compulsory education by one semester led to an 8% decrease in child labor (Their World 2024). Furthermore, promoting sustainable livelihoods that provide fair incomes for young people is crucial in breaking the cycle of poverty-driven child labor. The International Labor Organization (ILO) emphasizes integrating youth employment initiatives into agricultural development strategies. Supporting initiatives that create decent work opportunities for adults in rural areas allows families to rely less on child labor for household income. Given that child labor is most prevalent in agriculture, accounting for approximately 70% of cases worldwide (ILO, 2017), targeted interventions in this sector are essential. Initiatives like the FAO's Youth Employment in Agriculture Program (YEAP) aim to promote youth engagement in agriculture through skills development, resource access, and entrepreneurship training (FAO, 2021). By supporting smallholder farmers and rural communities, governments and organizations can reduce the reliance on unpaid child labor and create opportunities for children to pursue education and personal development.

For further insight, please visit the following: ILO (2017), FAO (2021), (Theirworld). 

Education

Schools need to work with social services to ensure that all children, regardless of background, have access to quality education. This is crucial because quality education goes beyond essential reading and math skills. As highlighted in UNICEF's reports (UNICEF), it should equip students with relevant skills for the modern workforce, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and digital literacy. The International Labour Organization (ILO) emphasizes that poor-quality education is a significant factor leading to child labor (ILO, 2016). Studies like the one conducted in China, which showed an 8% decrease in child labor after extending compulsory education by one semester, demonstrate the effectiveness of quality education in reducing child labor (Theirworld). Furthermore, abolishing school fees and making new books, uniforms, and affordable transportation a reality are essential steps. Conditional cash transfer programs, which provide financial incentives for school attendance, have also proven effective, according to the ILO (ILO, 2016). However, all of this can only be achieved with adequate funding. Prioritizing government spending on education and exploring innovative funding mechanisms is crucial to ensure every child has access to quality education and a future free from child labor.

For further insight, please visit the following: (ILO 2016), (Theirworld), (UNICEF). 

Conflicts and Crises

Child labor in areas of conflict are extremely difficult to manage and improve. One out of every four children live in a country facing such disasters and crises. These terrible conditions lead to displacement, loss of income, and most importantly, disruption of education. In order to address child labor, we must be prepared. The Inter-Agency Toolkit developed by the International Labor Organization and other agencies provides practical guidance for humanitarian actors to prevent and respond to child labor in emergencies (ILO). It emphasizes the importance of preparedness, including collecting data on child labor prevalence, economic conditions, available social services, and local support networks. A key aspect of preparedness is being vigilant for risks of sexual exploitation and forced labor, especially during war. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlights this as a major concern in conflict zones (UNODC, 2021). In addition, international law has firmly condemned the exploitation of children in armed conflicts. The ILO's Convention No. 182 categorizes forced children recruitment in warfare as one of the worst forms of child labor. Going further, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits all recruitment of individuals under the age of 18 by armed forces and groups. Furthermore, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court deems the conscription, enlistment, or active deployment in hostilities of children under 15 to be a war crime, subjecting those in violation to prosecution. All together, these legal instruments aim to safeguard the well-being of children and prevent their victimization in the context of armed conflict. The ILO's strategy to address child recruitment focuses on providing sustainable work opportunities for youth of legal working age (ILO - Armed Conflicts). By equipping at-risk children with economic opportunities, the ILO aims to prevent their potential recruitment. The overall point is to provide meaningful employment that can steer vulnerable youth away from armed groups and towards a more stable and productive future.

For further insight, please visit the following: [ILO (Interagency Toolkit)], (UNODC), (ILO - Armed Conflict). 

Childcare Access and Affordability

More than 40 percent of all children younger than primary-school age, or nearly 350 million, need childcare but do not have access to it, according to a World Bank report. This is leading many young children to spend time in unsafe and hazardous conditions. Children as young as 4 are either helping to work in family agriculture or other dangerous fields or simply being present with parents due to no other options. having quality childcare not only sets children up for a healthy development path but it also allows more women into the workforce and increases human capital. increasing children's development helps to create better educated and more resourceful workforce in the future. This also creates current workers to be more productive with not having to worry about their children's safety while working alongside them. This can be achieved by a few different means; one could be the creation of provisions to expand access to impoverished families and extend hours for long working hours of agricultural families. This is an issue in developed nations as well. A way that has been used to tackle this is by giving cash assistant payments to parents to either pay for childcare or supplement their income. Another would be for local governments to allocate funding for free and low-cost care for children of their workforce. This would be a challenge for poorer developing nations, but a small percentage of GDP used on this could help to make the workforce more productive and in turn more profitable. Another would be to create quality assured workers and a system of care in underdeveloped localities, with partnership funding from charitable donations. This has been done in developing nations by UNICEF and other global financers. Setting up nonprofit childcare centers with the sole purpose of helping to alleviate child labors in developing nations by donated funds. 

Statistics sourced from: worldbank.org 

Global Examples sourced from: usaid.gov 

Increasing Partnership and Enforcement Against Child Labour Between Stakeholders and Agriculture Businesses and Family Farms

Increasing labor inspectors and enforcing regulations in rural settings of current labor laws will help to reduce child labor. The passing of increased protections in countries with minimal local enforcement will also help to cut child labor practices. However, there is the issue of corruption of local inspectors that could be paid off by the business owners to look the other way. Additionally, purchasers of agricultural goods need to be held responsible as well, should they be actively buying goods from child labored businesses. A UN based enforcement agency funded by the largest buyers of goods like the US, UK, France, and other Western countries to investigate and punish businesses that exploit children could be set in place. This would be UN funded enforcement agents and not local government agents. As for the family farmers, we need to partner with them and their buyers of goods and set up a protections standard that does not interfere with children's education and development. With increased partnership and funding resources available, we can start to decrease the number of children working due to a lack of options and funds. The funds could be issued from the UN and then distributed to the family farms and businesses that buy their goods.

Global Examples sourced from: IZA World of Labor - Enforcement of labor regulations in developing countries 

Enforcement is Key to Ending Global Child Labor | U.S. Department of Labor Blog

Tackling Social Norms: A Slew of Remedies and Overall Awareness

As previously mentioned, much of child labor occurs in the agricultural setting, often on family farms. Allowing rural families to have children help on the farm occasionally is fine when it does not negatively affect the child. For example, child labor becomes inadmissible when it prevents the child from going to school, hindering their development and continuing the cycle. Because child labor is seen as an acceptable social norm in rural regions, it is imperative that legislation for such practices becomes more robust and more enforced and interventions are sought out to support families that have to resort to child labor for support. Creating and enforcing more substantial restrictions and punishments for child labor can help, as it will become a less desirable option if consequences are heavily enforced to ensure compliance. Furthermore, despite it being family child labor, making regulations like ensuring that work does not interfere with education, limiting hours, monitoring the work environment to make sure it is not hazardous for the child, etc., will help to end child labor. Also, finding alternatives that are more appealing than making their children work all day will also help. This might be done by making sure that the education that children are eligible to receive is relevant to their community and will lead to more promising work and skills that benefit both the child and the family in the long run. Ensuring these families have adequate support and interventions, following legislative rules over local social norms, will become more desirable. An overall mix of remedies as described on this page will help with this as families will see that there are better alternatives. Additionally, rural regions participating in child labor must understand the extent of this issue and how it impacts their children. Raising awareness about the negative aspects of child labor can help shift the current social beliefs and attitudes that support child labor, making it no longer seen as acceptable.

For further insight, please visit the following: Ending Child Labor by 2025: A Review of Policies & Programs (2018), Challenges and Perspectives of Child Labor (2018)