A new large-scale study addresses the evidence gap on child domestic labour
Research in Ethiopia reveals high numbers of female child domestic workers, labour rights groups condemn U.S. businesses’ attempt to hide key import data, and Humanity Research Consultancy shows how grassroots collaboration can facilitate the safe return of trafficking victims.
A new report on the prevalence of domestic servitude among child workers in Addis Ababa is the largest study to date examining child domestic work specifically, and makes an important contribution to an area in which lack of evidence inhibits the awareness and prevention of child labour. Produced by The Freedom Fund and the Population Council, and funded by the U.S. Department of State Office to Combat and Monitor Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office), the report aims to describe the situations faced by child workers, examine the levels of human trafficking and hazardous work involved, look at access and barriers to services, and help shape local interventions and policy decisions.
Although it is estimated that there are 17.2 million child domestic workers worldwide, most of whom are girls, research relating to this group is extremely limited and small scale, and is often subsumed into broader topics such as that of domestic workers in general. This dearth of evidence arguably limits awareness about girls in situations of child domestic labour, and inhibits the design and implementation of context-appropriate policy and program responses.
The research included a large-sample population-based study, which took place in areas identified by stakeholders as locations in which high numbers of child domestic workers are found, as well as in-depth interviews with a smaller group of girls. The prevalence of child domestic work among all girls aged 12 to 17 was found to be 37 per cent. Child domestic workers were doing 55 hours of domestic work per week on average, with 25 per cent working more than 70 hours per week and 40 per cent having no rest day. Two in five first entered into domestic work at age 14 or younger and the vast majority (85 per cent) experienced conditions that amounted to the worst forms of child labour, in violation of UN conventions. Based on indicators developed by the U.S. Department of State, more than half (52 per cent) of girls were victims of human trafficking.
Unlike previous studies that focus exclusively on those who identify themselves as domestic workers, the researchers explicitly took into account ambiguities in distinguishing child domestic workers, especially when they are distant family members or children considered to be “fostered” – in more than 50 per cent of cases, girls had been relocated from poorer, rural communities to private homes under the often false pretense that they would be looked after. In these situations, “care vacuums” are created, making girls extremely vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and violence. The ambiguous relationships that can exist between the child and host family or employer have made it difficult to measure the number of children in domestic work, or experiencing exploitation, with many girls not recognizing themselves as domestic workers.
The study findings provide support for the following recommended actions related to prevention, protection and prosecution: recognize domestic work under official labour laws, as well as through the ratification and incorporation of ILO Resolution Convention 189; ensure adequate consultation, representation and a right to be heard for child domestic workers in future policy and legislative decisions; utilize existing local leaders and community structures to instigate change through codes of conduct for employers and model contracts; provide adequate and reliable information in source communities for girls and families contemplating migration and entry into domestic work; support collaboration between government bodies, non-governmental organizations, and community structures to ensure efficient identification, referral, shelter and aftercare services for child domestic workers; and ensure all law enforcement bodies have the capacity and resources to enforce Ethiopia’s labour laws and anti-trafficking legislation.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
A group of major U.S. businesses, including Walmart, General Motors and Intel, has submitted to the government proposals for key import data to be kept confidential – a move trade experts say would make it more difficult for Americans to link the products they buy to labour abuse overseas. In response, civil society organizations and advocates sent an open letter calling upon the government to reject this bid to hide trade data from the public.
The trampling of women’s rights and “deeply ingrained misogyny” are connected in many ways to today’s global challenges, from the proliferation of conflicts to increasing assaults on human rights, the U.N. deputy secretary-general said on Thursday, during a UN Security Council meeting.
On the European Day against Trafficking in Human Beings last week, German NGO KOK presented its third data report on human trafficking and exploitation in Germany. The annual Situation Report on Human Trafficking of the Federal Criminal Police Office is considered to give the only reliable figures on trafficking in Germany, but has limited informative value because the report only refers to cases in which preliminary proceedings have been opened and concluded. KOK’s data collection complements these crime statistics with civil society analyses and broadens the spectrum in terms of social law and residence rights.
Survivors of modern slavery in the UK are being left destitute and at risk of exploitation by a crumbling legal aid system that is failing to provide them with the support they need, according to a new report by the Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU). Ninety per cent of support workers helping survivors reported that they had struggled to find legal advisors for their clients in the past year, with almost half reporting delays of six months or longer.
This impact case study by Humanity Research Consultancy details how a cyber scam victim from Ethiopia was evacuated from Cambodia after her family contacted HRC to facilitate her safe return. It is an example of the way in which media coverage can amplify a pressing human rights issue, and how collaboration between various stakeholders at the grassroots level can save lives.
A report by the British Red Cross on migration in the Sahel highlights the links between climate change, movement and vulnerability factors, and explores the ways in which current responses are largely skewed towards meeting immediate needs, rather than building community resilience through prevention and preparedness, long-term coping strategies, and adaptation projects led by local communities.
The Social Atrocity: Meta and the right to remedy for the Rohingya, a new report by Amnesty International, details how Meta knew or should have known that Facebook’s algorithmic systems were supercharging the spread of harmful anti-Rohingya content in Myanmar.
In this recent episode of BBC Woman’s Hour, London-based organization Hestia discusses the red tape that’s holding survivors back from using their skills and experience to benefit the UK economy.
The Global Fund for Children is currently recruiting for a Program Specialist-Bangladesh and a Development Associate. Both positions are open until filled.
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