Child labour

Introduction

In recent times, the issue of child labour has increased considerably in the society. In the US alone, it is estimated that more than two million children are in the hands of an employer (Barker). Most of these children suffer from various diseases, especially in Africa and many die due to starvation, abuse and poverty. Although there have been different attempts by governments to reduce and eliminate this situation, the efforts have not been successful. According to UNICEF, more than 11% of all countries worldwide have still not achieved enough elimination of the most important cause of death among its people – malnutrition (United Nations International Agency on Environment and Development (United Nations, 2008)1-4). Even though there are numerous campaigns against this issue, it is still very difficult to eradicate this phenomenon because it continues to be extremely widespread. For instance, more than 80% of workers in developing countries (Balkeria and Egypt, Bangladesh and Nigeria) are engaged in this exploitation of employees. The main aim of this paper is to discuss the topic of child exploitation and highlight some of the main measures that governments can take to prevent this issue. One particular measure that will be covered is how governments can come up with laws that require parents or employers to report any form of child exploitation found in their workplace. This will help in eliminating this problem within the country and thus make the government work towards encouraging good human behavior. Furthermore, the discussion will focus on different ways that parents can protect themselves against such exploitative situations and provide them legal opportunities, which would enable them to support their children if they ever decide to work in factories or employ children in this field. It will also address the idea of providing adequate training and education to children so that they can learn the required skills in future as well as inform them about the necessary legal procedures in case they decide to report a case of child exploitation.

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What is Child Labour?

Child labor refers to the exploitation or exploitation of individuals and/or groups of people for purposes other than those associated with physical labour, health care or industrial production (United Nations International Agency on Environment and Development (United Nations, 2003)2-6). Currently, there are no rules or regulations regarding this issue but the international community has taken many steps to improve the existing legal system. However, all efforts made so far have only succeeded in reducing the magnitude of the issue and the number of affected children. As such, there is need for nations to create laws and regulations that would prohibit any kind of exploitation to occur in their workplaces2-9 which could be done using the set rules in place. There is currently no law regarding this issue in the U.S. and hence the need to create one so that children do not exploit each other and even those who are working in factories. In countries such as India such a thing is already being enforced but it still needs to be improved as it has proven hard to enforce legislation. What then about other countries where this thing might be happening to young people? Such countries should have laws that would prohibit any form of exploitation to happen in their workplaces and not just employees but also contractors, parents and anyone else who would be involved in child labor. The same issues can be applied to employers as there is no legal requirement in the way that they must operate hence no law to deal with exploitation of employees since they are already under law and hence no reason to require such an individual to comply with the law.

Causes of Exploitation

The majority of the cases of exploitation in this world are related to the fact many countries still lack sufficient laws to contain such activities. However, such problems could be solved through a lot of effort. First, countries should start enforcing laws that require employers to report cases of exploitation to police. With the continuous increase in globalization, it is common for companies to hire workers from third world countries, regardless of whether they are aware of the risks of exploited persons and what kind of conditions they have been subjected to. Therefore, this implies that they have little to no control over such operations and thus need to be reported to law enforcement agencies. If companies are to pay fines for illegal operations, they should ensure that they follow the stipulations that govern such activities. Governments should also invest in creating policies that require stakeholders like investors and consumers of products to disclose any information regarding any kind of exploitation that happens in their markets. Some of the most common methods of exploitation include advertising, selling of expired products, sexual harassment and forced labour. To curb such cases of exploitation, countries need to introduce stricter penalties for those found doing anything contrary to the law. Companies may be required to pay more fines to allow the government or any relevant authority to prosecute the perpetrators of exploitation. The punishment that the accused faces upon conviction is very severe and often a deterrent to any potential offenders involved from future. Thus, countries need to come up with the strongest and strictest penalties for any form of exploitation that occurs in their workplaces by coming up with specific punishments that would discourage them from carrying out these actions.

Preventing Exploitation

There is a general belief within the communities related to the exploitation of women. As such, a lot of organizations have emerged in order to fight against such exploitation. Examples of this are Women’s Health Fund (WHF), Human Rights Watch, Equal Justice Initiative and Transparency International. Many of these organizations are very dedicated and have great efforts to ensure that such people do not suffer in silence. Through these organizations, people can come together and share knowledge on matters that pertain to gender, the rights of females and the challenges that women face in contemporary societies. They also contribute and share wisdom to other organizations that have similar aims because they want to help females and young girls in every aspect. Their contribution in the society should therefore make them a role model to other members of the society and encourage them to stand up for their rights. Some organizations also offer financial assistance programs in order to empower mothers and other female members of the society. These efforts are aimed at providing safe and healthy environments for females to raise their children, hence making them less susceptible to exploitation. Overall, through these organizations, women are empowered, abused, murdered and raped, thereby making it impossible for a woman or a girl to survive in such areas. In addition, since governments have no powers or regulations to check these actions, these organizations have helped to save thousands of lives during the years of past. Hence, there is need for the government to come up with laws and regulations that make it possible for people to report such incidents.

Legal proceedings

For a long, nations such as the United States have been able to deal with such cases easily because of their strong legal systems in place. Apart from this, most people have the right to bring legal proceedings against any person who commits acts of exploitation in the country. However, due to high rates of violence in the society, many children end up dying at un-safe and unventilated houses (United Nation Millennium Project, 2009). At such a point, there is no clear definition of what constitutes exploitation. In many cases, children get lured into homes, are trafficked from abroad and forced to work in factories or offices, and engage in such activities as manufacturing, construction and agricultural work. It is important for parents, teachers and other concerned parties, to report instances of child exploitation. A court may require a person to give a statement that gives details of the instances of exploitation. During investigations, the investigating officers would interview witnesses in order to ascertain where the events took place 4-7 and whether there were any signs that led to the exploitation of a person or group of people. Once this is done, the process of proving each claim to the courts would take place and a verdict would ultimately be given to the accused (United Nations International Agency on Environment and Development (United Nations, 2008).

Law enforcement

When there was no justice system in place, the government had to rely on the army in order to investigate crimes that have happened in the country. The military uses trained, armed personnel such as firearms and bombs against enemies, criminals and terrorists, hence making it impossible for a peaceful coexistence between people of different tribes and religions. Additionally, if it is discovered that someone is engaging in activities deemed immoral or unacceptable in this society, then the police would come in to ensure that this person does not continue with his illegal activities 4-8. Police forces however, are becoming used to cover up corrupt politicians. The public and the media have become the enemies to the police and this explains why it would be easy for someone to commit an act of exploitation without getting caught by any laws. Laws only came into existence to check corruption and the influence of influential persons like political leaders that could be linked to people through jobs and other transactions. Since the power of this group has dwindled, it is now very difficult to stop them when it comes to influencing people. Hence, all citizens are bound to fear the police and they prefer staying indoors when it comes to protecting them. Another challenge is that when the police arrest someone, there will always be questions regarding his or her origins or how he or she acquired the job. Hence, one cannot guarantee that justice will be served by the police.

Lawfare

Despite the large number of victims that the state of conflict, the state of war provides, there are those in the country who are highly vulnerable to the state of conflict. Those who are involved in this state of war as a result of exploitation, rape, forced labour etc., are highly susceptible to the state of war. When a person of this nature is taken into a state of conflict and forced to participate or complete all of the following tasks, the odds of survival is relatively low. According to WHO, the average rate of success for the survivors of assault is 2%. In many circumstances, those who suffer are forced to work without proper protection, are beaten or killed, or have their organs stolen for sale. Under certain circumstances.

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