Modern Day Child Labor
Child labor is not as severe an issue as it was a centuries ago, but it still affects millions of kids worldwide. Statistics from the International Labor Organization show that there are about 73 million children between ages 10 and 14 that work in economic activities throughout the world, and 218 million children working worldwide between the ages of 5 and 17. The child labor problem is worst in Asia, where 44.6 million children have to work. Africa is not much better, with about 23.6 million child laborers.
What have we started?
§ Global number of children in child labor has declined by one third since 2000, from 246 million to 168 million children. More than half of them, 85 million, are in hazardous work (down from 171 million in 2000).
§ Asia and the Pacific still has the largest numbers (almost 78 million or 9.3% of child population), but Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region with the highest incidence of child labor (59 million, over 21%). § There are 13 million (8.8%) of children in child labor in Latin America and the Caribbean and in the Middle East and North Africa there are 9.2 million (8.4%). § Agriculture remains by far the most important sector where child laborers can be found(98 million, or 59%), but the problems are not negligible in services (54 million) and industry (12 million) – mostly in the informal economy. § Child labour among girls fell by 40% since 2000, compared to 25% for boys. Sourced from: http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm#a1 |
Problems that have been caused...
Problems, and very bad one have resulted from the horrors of child labor. One problem being Child Trafficking. Child Trafficking is when children are bought and sold within and across national borders. They are trafficked for sexual exploitation, for begging, and for work on construction sites, plantations and into domestic work. Another problem is Child Marriage. Marriage involving children under 18 years old remains a widely culturally accepted practice in many corners of the globe. Estimates suggest that 11 per cent of women aged between 20 and 24 worldwide were married before reaching the age of 15. There has been growing awareness about the negative consequences of child marriage, especially for girls, including the impact of marriage on children’s education, and risks to their physical health.