Why Child Labor Must Be Abolished - Essay Example

Child Labor Course: Instructor: Institution: Date of Submission Child Labor Introduction Child labour is defined as the practice of engaging children in economic activities on full-time or part time basis. It has been considered and noted that the practice normally deprives children of decent childhood, which is harmful to their mental and physical development. It has been established that poverty, growing informal economy and lack of good schooling have been the common causes of child labor. Although the practice of employing children has been around from the time immemorial, the formal and large scale employment of children begun in the late 1700s. As the power driven machines were beginning to replace the hand driven labor, employers found it more convenient to employ children. This is because operating the machines did not require a lot of strength and therefore they could be employed at less cost than that of adults. Most of them, who came from poor families, could be subjected to work in mines, mills or factories. One of the glass factories in Massachusetts employed boys less than 12 years to carry loads of hot glass for 40 cents per night. As the cruelty grew worse and worse, labor groups, teachers, churches and many other groups were outraged, starting to press for reforms. From 1800, many laws started being enacted to combat the situation. Currently, nearly all states in the US have laws that regulate child labor. They have cured the evils that the children underwent while working in factories (Fried, 2013). Therefore, this paper is going to discuss why child labor should be banned to stop depriving children of their physical and mental development. Why Child Labor Must be Abolished Abolishing child labor is justified because employers are likely to take advantage of minor age and helplessness to exploit them with meager pay (ILO, 2008). In this regard, some employments that involve a child may even lack a valid contract. They are not educated, apart from not having developed in other capacities that enable them bargain very well, and therefore they may not be suitable to match their employers as they pressure for their demands; some being as young as 12 years old. For this instance, many children, who are employed as house servants, work until late at night, without handsome pay or recreation (United for Sight, 2013) . The employers always treat them with harsh abuses and may even punish them for what they consider as silly mistakes. Therefore, this inhumane treatment of children should not be allowed to continue. Children who are employed as laborers will often miss education opportunity in their childhood. This will mean that they will not be in a critical period to improve their employment opportunities and therefore income later in their life. The children will not also be educated about their rights and the institutions they can use to get help if they need it. While missing both formal and larger part of informal education, there will be very significant stagnation in his mental growth. Being confined in one place, the child will not be able to receive informal education from his peers, religions, parents, cultural discourse, work places and exposure to mass media. Moreover, he does not have an opportunity to attend formal education in institutions of formal learning such as colleges, universities or schools (Adhikari, 2012). Although there may be some informal learning in some places where he can be working, the increasing industrial needs of specialists demand that one has a formally acquired special education with special skill, which may not be acquired in such environments. Formal education in particular, has been structured to go chronologically with a child’s development so that he learns the arts and sciences he can, as he develops (Adhikari, 2012).Since child labour contributes greatly to illiteracy of future citizens in the country, it is important that it should be abolished. The other obvious reason why the child should be abolished is that it has contributed greatly to a vicious cycle of poverty (ILO, 2008). Poverty cycles and child employment are intertwined. This is because when parents perceive themselves as poor, they will tend to send their children to work so that the family can at least survive. While in the works, they will obviously receive little pay with no education. Without education would mean that, they remain low paid employees forever, which may even be passed over to their children. Girls, who are the most affected by the incident, would always marry when they are very young. The International Labor Organization has estimated that the number of child servants is great in developing countries due to poverty. The same vicious cycle is likely to continue since the youth who are supposed to be skilled for demanding industrial needs are employed in informal sectors while still young. Furthermore, the kinds of jobs done are inferior which cannot guarantee a child to develop in any meaningful innovational skills to take his responsibilities and those of others as well. For instance, the majority of child laborers in Pakistan were found to be employed as street garbage collectors and dumpers, helping hands in auto workshops, car washers, newspapers and other items vendors. Besides these, the children are also kept at home to perform duties such as house servicing, shoe polishing, or working in small business within the neighborhoods (United for Sight, 2013). Evidently, from this information, there is no guarantee that one may emerge out of his poor economic status to be successful in future and hence the practice should be abolished. The practice of employing young people leads to sexual abuse of young girls and other harmful consequences that are accompanied with it. Since girls make up a greater percentage of those who are employed as children, they are likely to face, at earliest time during their tender age, cruel sexual exploitation by adults, prostitution, rape, early and unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, drugs and HIV/AIDS. Children are increasingly being employed along costs and other tourism destinations as commercial workers where they are exploited. There are reports that some of them begin at a tender age of 12 years. Moreover, trafficking children to exploit them as domestic and sex workers has been on the rise. For instance, reports indicate that there are numbers of children being trafficked from Mozambique to South Africa for commercial sex exploitation (UNICEF, 2013a). A study carried out by the Ministry of Women and Social Action in the country found that 34% of those girls employed as commercial workers have been subjected to sexual abuse and beatings (UNICEF, 2013a). In Mozambique, which has the highest rate of child marriage in the world, has been found to be harboring most of the marriages because of the domestic works. UNICEF has estimated that those who are orphaned have been making up a larger proportion of the population that is being sexually abused and set up for early marriages (UNICEF, 2013a). Other sexual abuses have included incest, kissing, sodomy or inappropriate touching. Horribly, child prostitutes are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. It has been noted HIV prevalence due to child prostitution range from 5% to 17% with Thailand being the leading in the prevalence. Other studies have noted that of all the children that rescued from Southeast Asia brothels, 50—90% had been infected with HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, they stand a high chance of being infected with other sexually transmitted diseases. Psychologically, child prostitution has been found to be causing severe harm on children. The long-term harms will include anxiety, behavioral disorders and depression. They are also prone to committing suicide and stress disorders after the trauma. Nevertheless, the prostituted children are likely to endure violence and injuries when being forced into submission. A study done in five countries involving prostituted children revealed that 73% of them had been physically assaulted and 62% said that they had been raped (ILO, 2008). In this regard, it is important the practice be stopped to protect the girls and boys from such heinous activities. Child labor should be stopped since it exposes children to injuries and accidents at work. Common injuries that children may be abused include burns, cuts, lacerations, tiredness, fractures, nightmares, excessive fears and dizziness (ILO, 2008). Since agricultural sector employs most people many children have also been employed there. It is estimated that it accounts for about 70% of the total global child labor force. They risk when they handle pesticides, machineries and tools. Children are also at risk of being crushed by heavy objects, which can result into an instant death (UNICEF, 2013b). A study done in US has been found that child laborers in farms who comprise mostly Latinos, have been found to be working more hours with risks of being caught with pesticide poisoning, injuries, heat related illness, lifelong disabilities and even death (Yadav, 2013). In 2010, the report adds that, 75% of the children faced such injurious and deadly scenarios. For those who work in industries crushing, fractures and amputation are very common. Others may be exposed to high temperatures that may result into burns. Fireboxes and matches are likely to produce fire that may explode. Moreover, they are exposed to chemical and biological agents, which may be poisonous. At this tender age, some may be forced to work in inadequate working space that would have to deform their posture. Those children that have been employed in shoe making industry are at risk of being exposed to glue. According to certain data of a survey, the mortality rate of the children that work in the industry is higher than that of adults. It has also been said that although there is a Federal protection, its enforcement seems not serious. Huffman (2014) adds that many foreign child workers are now stranded in Singapore being unable to earn wages because they cannot work due to injuries they have had from their workstations. Nevertheless, despite the injuries, they are unable to pay their medical bills or return home due to meager earnings they get. Things may become worse at the extent where one’s vertebra becomes broken. Therefore, if adults do not take sufficient measures to protect the children from the child labor and henece injuries, it will be hard if they will develop well, physically. Child labour has made children to undergo physical maltreatments. The maltreatments include corporal punishments, punching, shaking, hitting, verbal attacks, humiliations, rejections, bad remarks, belittling and emotional maltreatment. Recently, there have been many stories in Ugandan newspapers indicating that slavery is returning in homes to haunt house cleaners. This discussion has gained a lot of momentum since there is, on the other side, of their employers, litany of complaints against them: they do not clean well, are bad cooks, they pinch the babies and can poison them. For those who are lucky, they only burn their foods. Just to mention but one case, Sharon Nakanjako was forced to eat burnt food so that she “could learn how to cook them well” next time. Moreover, this Kampala housemaid was given a very fiery slap that could make her not stand up well for some time. According to her, as a former housemaid, she cautions other girls not ever to work as house maids, if they don’t want to suffer. She recalls how she was disregarded as a human being and severally treated as rubbish. Currently, she is stays with Oasis organization, which is a community, based to help children abused in such circumstances ( Nabiruma, 2010). Worldwide, various studies have suggested that children employed in a percentage of 80% to 98% are normally affected by the physical punishment at home. Moreover, the report says that 57,000 children of the age below 15 years die because of the physical attacks every year. Therefore, the world cannot just sit and watch the prevalence increasing; it should stop it legally. The practice of employing children deprives them of their emotional development they need from members of the family. Because of missing family love, they will tend to become very lonely and hopeless. Emotional neglect will therefore cause impaired social development that will impact greatly on their self esteem. The child in this regard is likely to develop antisocial behaviors such as living in fear or lying. When in the hands of people who are not parents, they will not get both emotional and physical support that they require in order to develop (United for Sight, 2013). The employers may deprive the emotional support by constant criticisms, threats and withholding love, guidance or support. As reported by Child Welfare Information gateway, children suffer more emotionally than they do physically; so preventing it is just to stop the practice of child employment. Physical child neglect involves not providing the child with adequate basic requirements that include food, clothing, shelter and medical examination and treatment. The child workers, especially those in the domestic categories, face denial of descent drinks and foods from their employers. Some of the domestic workers are also forced to sleep outside especially when they perform household chores such as cooking food poorly. Others may be forced to eat badly cooked food especially if they do not cook the given food very well. They may not be given proper clothing and therefore they are likely to continue shivering in winter and suffering. They will tend to become sick without proper medication that will make their development to be deprived (United for Sight, 2013). These reports have reached various societal groups who demand that the practice be abolished. Child labor has increased widespread trafficking of children around the globe. Child trafficking involves taking a child from his protective environment and preying on his vulnerability for exploitation purposes. Although precise estimates do not exist, it is considered that about 980,000 to 1,225,000 children of both genders are being plunged into forced labour due to child trafficking ( European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, 2013). It can occur within national borders, across countries or across continents. It is mostly linked to employers requiring cheap labour from what is considered as docile employment sectors (United for Sight, 2013). The situation is commonly expected to result in gross human right violations. The environment is normally one of the worst forms. The jobs may range from commercial sexual exploitation, soldiering practices, drug couriering, camel jockeying among others. In Uganda, people are going to villages to fetch young children as house cleaners at night and imprison them for those who are in demand of their services at little pay (ILO, 2008). . These horrible inhumane activities have to be stopped and those involved forced to face the law. Child Employment also makes general wages especially those earned by higher age groups slip downwards. This is because since employers will be hiring teenagers or children instead of high priced adult employees, they will resort to less paid children (ILO, 2008). For instance, as it is expected, when the G.O.P proposal sails through, it will see workers in Maine State receiving a layoff notice as their bosses could find it easy to replace them with their sons/ daughters, since they are younger and cheaper (Millhiserm, 2011). Therefore, to protect the value of services and therefore quality production, child labor should be stopped. Conclusion From the discussion, it is eminent that child labor should be abolished in all states in the world. It has resulted in mysteries on children due to impaired physical and mental development leading to adults who cannot advance in skills and therefore continue to be in the same vicious cycle of illiteracy and poverty. Employers are taking advantage of the minors’ age to underpay, cause them to miss education and therefore languish in the same class of poverty. Moreover, there have been various horrible stories about the children being sexually abused, exposed to injuries in farms and industries, and other physical maltreatments. The practice has also resulted in parental emotional and physical neglect that has seen them developing into anti social behaviors like lying and fears. The cheap labor from the children has resulted in widespread child trafficking around the globe. There are fears that they may cause the general level of wages to slip downwards, which aggravates the low employee morale at the workplace. Therefore abolishing the practice of hiring children will really serve to stop these predicaments. References Adhikari, H. (2012). The importance of formal education and how to motivate illiterate, impoverished families to send their children to school. Haripa. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://haripa.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/the-importance-of-formal-education-and-how-to-motivate-illiterate-impoverished-families-to-send-their-children-to-school/ European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. (2013).How can children be accidentally killed, seriously injured or exposed to health risks in agriculture? Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from https://osha.europa.eu/en/faq/children-young-persons-and-other-vulnerable-groups/how-can-children-be-accidentally-killed-seriously-injured-or-exposed-to-health-risks-in-agriculture Fried, M.(2013).A History of Child Labor. Scholastic. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/history-child-labor Huffman, A. (2014).Singapore's City Of The Future And The Ghost Of Tom Joad. IB Times. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://www.ibtimes.com/singapores-city-future-ghost-tom-joad-1521908 ILO. (2008).Causes and Consequences of Child Labour in Ethiopia. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://www.ilo.org/ipec/Regionsandcountries/Africa/WCMS_101161/lang--en/index.htm Millhiserm, I. (2011).The War On Child Labor Laws: Maine Republicans Want Longer Hours, Lower Pay For Kids. Think Progress. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/03/31/154895/gop-loves-child-labor/ Nabiruma, D. (2010).COVER STORY: Slavery returns home to haunt the housemaid. The Observer. Retrieved on 21 December 2013 from http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8730&Itemid=70 UNICEF.(2013a). East and Southern Africa. Child Labour and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://www.unicef.org/esaro/5480_child_labour_sexual_exploitation.html UNICEF. (2013b).Mozambique. Child Protection. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://www.unicef.org/mozambique/protection.html United for Sight. (2013).Module 4: Child Labor and Child Abuse in Developing Countries. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://www.uniteforsight.org/gender-power/module4 Yadav, Y. (2013). Child Workers Prone to Fatal Injuries in US. New Indian Express. Retrieved on 3 January 2014 from http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/Child-Workers-Prone-to-fatal-Injuries-in-US/2013/12/20/article1955039.ece Read More