Enact stricter laws to curb Child Labour

70 percent of children in child labour are working in agriculture that relates mainly to subsistence and commercial farming and herding livestock.

Enact stricter laws to curb Child Labour

According to International standards Child labour is defined as work that is hazardous, demands too many hours, or is performed by children who are too young. In most cases, it puts their well-being at risk, deprives them of time for healthy childhood play or denies them their right to the education. Not all work performed by children is child labour.

In 2015 the UN member states committed to ending child labour by 2025. Globally there are 151.6 children between the ages of 5 to 17 in child labour. Slightly less than half of children in child labour 72.5 million of them are performing hazardous work that places their health, safety or moral development at risk. In the year 2000 which marks a 16-year period a drop in the number of children in child labour of 94 million was seen. 

Child labour remains concentrated primarily in agriculture (70.9 per cent). Almost one in five child labourers work in the services sector (17.1 per cent) while 11.9 per cent of child labourers work in industry.

Africa has the greatest risk of child labour where one in five children is involved in child labour. Children in countries affected by conflict and disasters are more susceptible to child labour. These fragile situations heighten the risk of child labour due to, displacement and disruptions in basic services, Seven in ten children in child labour are working in agriculture. This work relates mainly to subsistence and commercial farming and herding livestock, and is often hazardous. 

Though statistics show that the boy child is more involved in child labour, this may be due to the fact that domestic work is not accounted for. The girl child due to circumstances such as poverty drops out of school and is employed as a domestic worker. It is time we enact laws that protects children from child labour.

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