“When I play with the master’s children, I must always let them win”: Child Domestic Labor

Child Domestic Work, Violence, and Health Outcomes: A Rapid Systematic Review

“…This rapid systematic review provides a narrative synthesis of the violence, health outcomes, and working conditions of child domestic workers. Child domestic workers are generally excluded from mainstream child protection and education services and are vulnerable to different forms of violence and maltreatment in employing households [ 9 ]. Importantly, working conditions and children’s experiences, including exposure to violence, and the circumstances in which children perform different tasks are critical contributing factors to the ways in which child domestic work affects children’s health, development, and safety.…”

“…There remains very limited data on regional estimates of child domestic workers; however, statistics indicate that Asia contains the most (41%) domestic workers [ 7 ] and the second-most (60.7 million) child laborers in the world [ 8 ]. In many contexts, domestic work is perceived to be safe and beneficial for children who take jobs in employing households to escape poverty, often as a better option than more hazardous income opportunities or to improve their life prospects [ 9 ]. Child domestic work is rarely acknowledged as ‘employment’ since, for many employing households, child domestic workers are often ‘relatives’ or ‘fostered’ children, even though they may be treated differently to other family members [ 10 , 11 ].…”

“…Psychological distress, trauma, and subsequent mental health problems are not uncommon among child domestic workers. Young workers often suffer from isolation and the absence of affection and age-appropriate care, alongside being marginalized in the home and experiencing discriminatory treatment by household members [ 9 ]. Young people are also generally unable to manage the feelings and emotions that result from circumstances of neglect [ 13 ].…”

“…These adverse experiences are often compounded by feelings of bereavement due to family separation and loss of affection [ 2 ]. Moreover, few working children are permitted to participate in education or access health or social services [ 9 ]. The longer-term pathways and health outcomes of child domestic workers have not been studied, but anecdotal accounts suggest that child domestic workers may transition to adult domestic work or marriage arrangements and youth workers may turn to sex work as a less restrictive, more lucrative option than domestic work [ 17 ].…”