The recent rise of children at work is due to the increase in inflation and the cost of living, and in the United States, the lessening of state protective laws and the use of migrant children. The International Labour Organization indicates there are 160 million children engaged in child labor, working in jobs that deprive them of their childhood, and harm their mental and physical development. Some of the worst forms of work involve sexual exploitation.
The BBC reported a mother forced to put her daughter into sex work to help support the family and survive living costs. In the United States at least 14 states have rolled back child protection laws and the NY Times reported that migrant children are employed in brutal work all across the U.S.
Despite the International Labor Organization’s prohibitive child labor laws, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the U.S. Department of Labor’s laws, these practices persist. Our expert panelists propose possible solutions.
Resources
- Child Labor | Human Rights Watch
- New Bill Would Protect Child Farmworkers in the US | Human Rights Watch
- Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs Across the U.S. | The New York Times
- Children’s Rights and Business Principles | UNICEF
- Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour | International Labour Organization
- H.R.4046 - Children's Act for Responsible Employment (CARE) Act of 2023
- Convention on the Rights of the Child | United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act | U.S. Department of Labor