Is domestic work a<i>worst form</i>of child labour? The findings of a six-country study of the psychosocial effects of child domestic work

Gamlin, Jennie; Camacho, A.Z.; Ong, Michelle G.; Hesketh, Thérèse

doi:10.1080/14733285.2013.829660

Cited by 40 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Levison and Langer focused on children working as domestic servants a common occupation for girls in some countries, in six countries in the WHO region of the Americas—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia in South America and Costa Rica and Mexico in Central America—and suggested they were sometimes better off than nondomestic servant child laborers with respect to increased school enrollment [ 56 ]. Gamlin et al surveyed over 3000 children, nearly half involved in domestic work, to examine physical exposures and psychological effects of such work in six countries spanning four WHO regions—Peru, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Togo, India, and the Philippines—with the most associated S&H risks reported in India and Togo [ 57 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposures Resulting in Safety and Health Concerns for Child Laborers in Less Developed Countries

Shendell

Noomnual

Chishti

et al. 2016

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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Objectives. Worldwide, over 200 million children are involved in child labor, with another 20 million children subjected to forced labor, leading to acute and chronic exposures resulting in safety and health (S&H) risks, plus removal from formal education and play. This review summarized S&H issues in child labor, including forced or indentured domestic labor as other sectors of child labor. Specifically, we focused on exposures leading to S&H risks. Methods. We used PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. References were in English, published in 1990–2015, and included data focused on exposures and S&H concerns of child labor. Results. Seventy-six journal articles were identified, 67 met criteria, 57 focused on individual countries, and 10 focused on data from multiple countries (comparing 3–83 countries). Major themes of concern were physical exposures including ergonomic hazards, chemical exposure hazards, and missed education. Childhood labor, especially forced, exploitative labor, created a significant burden on child development, welfare, and S&H. Conclusions. More field researche data emphasizing longitudinal quantitative effects of exposures and S&H risks are needed. Findings warranted developing policies and educational interventions with proper monitoring and evaluation data collection, plus multiple governmental, international organization and global economic reform efforts, particularly in lower-income, less developed countries.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposures Resulting in Safety and Health Concerns for Child Laborers in Less Developed Countries

Shendell

Noomnual

Chishti

et al. 2016

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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“…The ILO and others have highlighted the vulnerabilities of child domestic workers and the risks they routinely face: long and tiring workdays; exposure to toxic chemicals; carrying heavy loads; using dangerous tools such as knives, axes, and hot pans; inadequate rest, food, or accommodations; and the possibility of physical, verbal, and sexual violence (Blagbrough & Glynn, ) . Researchers who examined data from six countries so that they could ascertain whether domestic work could be accepted as a worst form of child labor due to its psychosocial effects found that children in India and Togo were the most at risk (Gamlin, Camacho, Ong, & Hesketh, ). Research has also shown that many of the children are unpaid, for example, 65% of them in Togo and 94% of them in Costa Rico (Gamlin et al, , p. 218).…”

Section: Labor Aspects Of Child Marriagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers who examined data from six countries so that they could ascertain whether domestic work could be accepted as a worst form of child labor due to its psychosocial effects found that children in India and Togo were the most at risk (Gamlin, Camacho, Ong, & Hesketh, ). Research has also shown that many of the children are unpaid, for example, 65% of them in Togo and 94% of them in Costa Rico (Gamlin et al, , p. 218). While recognizing the variation in the conditions of work for child domestic workers around the world, most scholars agree that they need adequate protection from abusive working conditions, and that in some cases, child domestic work is a worst form of child labor.…”

Section: Labor Aspects Of Child Marriagementioning

confidence: 99%

Child brides or child labor in a worst form?

Şişli

Limoncelli

2019

Journal of Labor and Society

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In this article, we argue that the early and/or forced marriage of girls under 18 should be understood, in part, as an exploitive form of child labor. We describe the types and conditions of labor that are commonly experienced by child brides and we examine the strengths and weaknesses of current international laws to adequately address the issue. We also argue that the problem of child brides should be addressed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) as one of the worst forms of child labor. Finally, we suggest the ILO Convention No. 182 (known as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention) as a legal mechanism. The convention offers one possible way to help to raise awareness in families and across societies about the harms of child marriage and provide for criminal and civil sanctions as tools to combat it.

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“…Even where there are regulations to protect child domestic workers, it is extremely difficult to enforce because the workplace is a private dwelling, effectively giving the employer total control over the person in their ‗service'. Thus, though it is clear that domestic workers are uniquely vulnerable, the degree of harm to which they are exposed is not clear due to its hidden nature (Jennie et al, 2015). In spite of this difficulty, exploitations reported by previous studies include low salaries, excessive domestic duties, long hours of work, limited freedom of movement, insecure accommodation and lack of privacy (Black, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home truths behind closed doors: Reciting the lived experiences of child domestic workers in selected towns of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Anja¹,

Alambo²

2019

Int. J. Sociol. Anthropol.

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This qualitative study was aimed at looking into the lived experiences of child domestic workers in the selected towns of Gedeo Zone. A triangulation of key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, informal conversations, non-participant observations, and life histories were employed to collect the required data from child domestic workers, brokers, urban residents, police officers, and officials and experts in concerned government offices. The finding reveals that poverty and parental death are among the principal factors that coerce children to join the sector. Being a solitary decision for a few, engaging in this sector is not a personal decision for many child domestic workers. Letting one or more child (ren) engage in domestic work in urban areas is often adopted by poor rural and urban families as a survival strategy. The decision of the families to send their children for domestic work is often mediated by brokers. With regard to the terms of employment of the child domestic workers, all interviewed child domestic workers were working without any written contract with their employers. Though the lived experiences of the interviewed child domestic workers were heterogeneous, most reported long working hours, poor remuneration, deduction, delay and denial of salary, denial of contact with family and friends, uncomfortable living arrangements, denial of access to education, and physical, verbal, psychological and sexual abuses to characterize their daily lives. As poverty was found to be the prominent reason for most child domestic workers to join the sector, the researchers suggest the integrated interventions of stakeholders to scale up the capabilities of rural and urban poor households thereby preventing children from entering into the sector. Furthermore, enforcing the existing legal frameworks related to child labor and enacting additional responsive regulations on child domestic work is imperative to protect those who are already in the sector.

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Is domestic work aworst formof child labour? The findings of a six-country study of the psychosocial effects of child domestic work

Cited by 40 publications

References 13 publications

Exposures Resulting in Safety and Health Concerns for Child Laborers in Less Developed Countries

Exposures Resulting in Safety and Health Concerns for Child Laborers in Less Developed Countries

Child brides or child labor in a worst form?

Home truths behind closed doors: Reciting the lived experiences of child domestic workers in selected towns of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia

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