34
©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from
Toolkit Texts
by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
A
bout 246 million children between the ages of
5 and 17 are engaged in “child labor,” according
to the International Labour Organization’s (ILO)
2000 global estimate. An estimated 73 million
of these children are below the age of 10.
What is meant by “child labor”? What kind of work
constitutes child labor? And where are these child
laborers found? How is child labor connected to us
as Americans? These are very simple questions.
The answers, unfortunately, are not so simple.
It has taken many years to come to some
kind of agreement on the defi nition of child
labor. While experts continue to disagree
on some aspects of the defi nition,
international human-rights conventions
have helped to guide international
efforts to eliminate child labor.
In 1989, the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child examined the issue.
According to Article 32 of this
convention:
What is
Who picked the cotton that made your jeans? Children in Northern
Peru spend hours every day picking cotton, a backbreaking and
thorny job.
“State Parties recognize the right
of the child to be protected from
economic exploitation and from
performing any work that is likely to
be hazardous or to interfere with the
child’s education, or to be harmful
to the child’s health or physical,
mental, spiritual, moral, or social
development.”
Child Labor?
Child Labor?
35
©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from
Toolkit Texts
by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
In 2000, the ILO conducted a study of
the scope and magnitude of child labor.
The Asia-Pacifi c region has the highest
incidence of child labor. About 127.3
million children between the ages of
5 and 14 are found in Asia, 73 million
in sub-Saharan Africa, and 17.4 million
in Latin American and the Carib bean.
And about 5 million are found in both
developed countries and transition
economies. This is only an estimate; it is
nearly impossible to accurately measure
the problem. But we know that this
problem is widespread.
When people hear the phrase “child
labor,” they often think of problems in
faraway places—problems in poor,
developing countries. While it is true
that the highest incidence of child labor
takes place in these poor countries,
America has its share of the problem.
In fact, American history is fi lled with
abusive forms of child labor, such as
children working in mines, sawmills, and
sweatshop factories. Today, some child
labor continues to exist in America. We
can still fi nd children working on farms
under some of the most hazardous
conditions. In states such as California
and Texas, for example, children are
picking onions and other agricultural
products that end up in some of our
supermarkets and that are eaten by
you and me.
1639 The earliest recorded account
of cruelty to a child occurred when a
master killed his young apprentice.
1790s Child labor rose in the United
States during the Industrial Revolu tion.
Eventually laws were passed to limit
how much children can work.
1904 The National Child Labor Committee
was formed in the United States.
1909 The fi rst Conference on Children
was held at the White House.
1938 The United States Congress
passed the Fair Labor Standards Act,
freeing children under the age of 16 from
having to work.
He’s only 14, but he already looks like he’s
been laboring a long time. His work is crushing
rocks to build a road, and he earns less than
$1 for a 12-hour workday.
Child Labor through the Years
Child Labor through the Years
36
©2007 by Heinemann and Carus Publishing from
Toolkit Texts
by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann). This page may be reproduced for classroom use only.
As Americans, we are also connected to
global child labor, directly and indirectly.
About 70 percent of child labor takes place
in agriculture. This includes the harvesting
of bananas in Central America and cocoa
beans for chocolate in West Africa and the
picking of coffee beans and tea leaves in
Latin America and Africa. Some of these
agricultural products end up on our
supermarket shelves. For better or for
worse, we are connected to some of the
most unacceptable forms of child labor.
Besides agriculture, what other forms of
child labor exist? The list is long, and we
can only cite a few categories, to give an
idea of the scope of the problem. Some
children are used to promote unlawful
activities such as the drug trade. Some
children are kidnapped and forced to
become child soldiers. Others are abducted
to perform labor similar to slavery, such
as working as servants in other people’s
homes. Other children, especially those
orphaned by HIV/AIDS, are left to fend for
themselves on the streets. These are the
children who labor from dawn until dusk
in dangerous conditions and live without
knowing where their next meal will
come from.
These 246 million children suffer from
some of the cruelest human rights
violations on a daily basis.
Adapted from an article by Chivy Sok
Not only are children working rather than going to school, but
it is not uncommon in Africa to fi nd children doing dangerous
work, such as welding.
1974 The United States Congress
created the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act.
1989 The United Nations adopted the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. The
convention asks that all member nations
protect their children’s rights.
1995 Twelve-year-old Craig Kielburger
founded Free the Children, an
international organization of children
who help other children.
2001 The international global movement
Say Yes for Children began to gain millions
of members worldwide.
2004 The fi rst Children’s World Congress on
child labor is held in Florence, Italy. A follow-up
session is held in India the following year.
2006 As many as 250 million children are
being held in bondage and working as slaves
around the world.
Child Labor through the Years
Child Labor through the Years
