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10 Tips for Helping End Child Labor

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Marsha Rakestraw | June 10, 2010

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(http://humaneeducation.org/IHEHumaneEdge/June2008ENews/mogochildlabor250h.jpg)The
change starts within each one of us, and ends only when all children are free to be children. Craig Kielburger

Have you recently purchased a soccer ball? Something embroidered? Something made from
cotton? Chocolate? Clothes? Produce? If so, theres a good chance youve purchased
something made from child labor. Child labor and slavery are so entrenched in the production
of goods and services from so many countries, that it can be an enormous challenge to avoid
it.
Its estimated that more than 200 million children around the world are engaged in child
labor, and almost half of those (ages 5-17) are involved in some sort of hazardous or
dangerous work. Child labor has existed in some form for thousands of years. But, as our
population has grown, as poverty has risen, as economic globalization has spread, the
exploitation, oppression and violation of children has increased. As the editors of Child Labor:
A Global Perspective mention, Poverty is the major precipitating factor, but education, rigid
social and cultural roles, economic greed, family size, geography, and global economics all

(http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?
v=250)

contribute. (1)
Part of the issue is that there is no clear, global de nition of child labor. Is it all work that a
child does? Only work that is oppressive or exploitative? Does working with your family count?
How young is too young to work? One book, Living as a Child Laborer, made this distinction:
Child Work is work that does not interfere in any way with the development of children or
their education. (5) Child Labor is work that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally
dangerous and harmful to children or interferes with their education. It is work, therefore,
that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity. (5)
The International Labor Organization (http://www.ilo.org/) de nes child labor as work that:
is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and
interferes with their schooling by:
depriving them of the opportunity to attend school;
obliging them to leave school prematurely; or
requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and
heavy work.
As the ILO says:

In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being

enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards

and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large
cities often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of
work can be called child labour depends on the childs age, the type
and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is
performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries.

Some people also argue that de nitions of child and labor often have developed from a
Western perspective that doesnt re ect the views of other cultures.
Regardless of the blurriness of de nitions, most countries have some laws that limit the
amount and types of work children can do. But, that doesnt mean that they are
acknowledged or enforced.
What kind of work are children engaged in that could be considered child labor? Weaving
rugs, making bricks, farming, taking apart toxic electronics, selling, cooking, diving for sh, or
serving as child prostitutes, domestic workers, child soldiers, etc. Theres no end to the list.

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World Day Against Child Labor

(http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Campaignandadvocacy/WDACL/WorldDay2010/lang--en/index.htm) is
June 12. Here are a few tips for helping end child labor:
1. Educate yourself. Use resources such as those suggested here
(http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/resources-to-help-you-help-stophuman.html) and here (http://www.humaneeducation.org/weblinks?
category=hum_rights_soc_justice), and then share what you learn with friends, family, coworkers and others, and work together to increase your voting power.
2. Contact retail stores, manufacturers and importers and kindly ask them questions
about the origins of their products. Let them know you want to buy products that dont
involve child labor, and give them suggestions for ethical products and services they can
o er instead.
3. Buy fair trade and sweatshop-free products whenever possible. Buy used when you
cant. Or borrow, share, trade, make it yourself, etc. Look for certi ed fair trade labels
such as Fair Trade Certi ed (http://www.transfairusa.org/), the Fairtrade Mark
(http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/), and the Goodweave label
(http://www.rugmark.org/home.php) to ensure that youre supporting positive practices
that dont involve child labor.
4. Grow more of your own food. Buy from farmers markets (verify their labor practices
rst), Community Supported Agriculture and U-Pick farms.
5. Forgo that daily latte or expensive make-up or go out to eat a bit less and funnel that
money toward supporting reputable groups that are helping free children from
exploitative labor and helping them get a good education. Volunteer your time when you
can.
6. Contact local, regional and national legislators and ask them to pass laws that ensure
no products in your city/state/country are made with child labor, and encourage them to
adopt codes of conduct which include concern for humane, sustainable, just practices.
7. Contact businesses that do business in countries that have child labor and encourage
them to put pressure on government o cials to take appropriate action and on
businesses that use child labor to use sustainable, fair-trade practices.
8. If youre a shareholder, use your voice to ensure that your companies support humane,
sustainable, just practices that dont include child labor.
9. Write letters to the heads of countries that permit any form of child slavery and ask
them to strengthen and enforce their laws, and to increase educational opportunities for
children and humane, sustainable business opportunities for adults.
10. Give presentations to schools, communities of faith, nonpro ts and other groups to
educate them about child labor issues and encourage positive action.
Stopping such insidious practices isnt easy, but there are choices that all of us can make to
improve conditions for children, to reduce our contribution to child labor, and to facilitate an
end to the oppression and exploitation of children.
~ Marsha
Image courtesy of Free the Children (http://www.freethechildren.com/).

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Categories: Humane Connection (http://humaneeducation.org/blog/category/humaneconnection/)

Tags: child labor (http://humaneeducation.org/blog/tag/child-labor/) / child slavery
(http://humaneeducation.org/blog/tag/child-slavery/) / citizen activism
(http://humaneeducation.org/blog/tag/citizen-activism/) / clothing
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(http://humaneeducation.org/blog/tag/mogo-choices/) / social justice

(http://humaneeducation.org/blog/tag/social-justice/) / systemic change
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About Marsha Rakestraw

Marsha is IHE's Director of E-learning, Education Resources, and Alumni
Relations and part of the online course faculty. More
Contact Marsha | View all articles by Marsha Rakestraw
(http://humaneeducation.org/blog/author/marsha/)

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