CHILD LABOUR Special Edition

Guest Editors: Cindy Berman and Urmila Bhoola

INTRODUCTION to the CHILD LABOUR Special Edition

Cindy Berman and Urmila Bhoola

The Covid 19 pandemic has undermined human rights, destroyed jobs and forced many already vulnerable people into further debt and poverty. Many families have been forced to resort to child labour to meet their economic needs. Children locked out of school have had to take on additional burdens as well as being vulnerable to increasingly new forms of exploitation through online platforms and apps. Children who are subject to the worst forms of child labour are harmed in ways that impede their physical, mental and emotional development, which affects their prospects for a decent life. They may fall victim to slavery and slavery-like practices as a result of human trafficking or other forms of coercion into forced labour or sexual exploitation by those willing to abuse their vulnerability.

Reframing, refining, and reconceptualising the worst forms of child labour through participatory adaptive programming

Marina Apgar and Danny Burns

This article explores the potential of using participatory action research as an adaptive programming modality to drive learning and innovation to tackle the drivers of (and seek to eliminate) the Worst Forms of Child Labour. We draw on our experience from early phases of implementation of a large-scale action research programme, which despite the constraints covid-19 posed in moving to full implementation and participatory engagement with children and other stakeholders on the ground, is already generating rich learning about the opportunities and challenges of designing programmes that respond to the complex reality of WFCL. We share early learning about what it takes to be fully open to using the lived experience of programme development, and early findings from scoping and mapping of the dynamics of social norms, business practices and urban neighbourhoods and supply chains influencing WFCL in Bangladesh and Nepal, to frame and reframe the questions and response strategies and operationalise a participatory adaptive intent to work with hidden and complex dynamics that characterise the WFCL.

Reviewing child labour and its worst forms: Contemporary theoretical and policy agenda

Md Mahmudul Hoque

The global response to child labour is based on the standards set by three major international conventions. This review examines the historical development of the conceptualizations of various forms of child labour, relevant views and perspectives, contemporary theoretical underpinnings, and policy suggestions. The emerging evidence shows that child labour incidences in all its forms have increased in many parts of the world, and the global target to eradicate child labour by 2025 seems unattainable. The evaluation indicates that the current global age-based abolitionist policy to fight child labour has lost some ground. The covid-19 pandemic has worsened the situation and the worst forms of child labour have become even more widespread and deeply normalized in many contexts and communities. The current scholarship of child labour remains critically ignorant of the relevant societal and cultural norms. Contemporary theorists and empiricists emphasize on constructing knowledge with the children and families engaged in child labour and focusing on finding innovative community-led alternatives to the worst forms of child labour. Regulations, policies, and support programmes must recognize the economic contribution of working children and work towards the children’s best interests.

Prioritising Agro-Rural Areas with Holistic and Community-Participatory Initiatives to Accelerate Progress towards Elimination of Child Labour

Purva Gupta and Gazal Malik

Agriculture continues to be the most challenging sector with the majority of child labourers (70%) working in hazardous conditions. The innumerable interventions to tackle child labour have failed to impact informal supply chains in agro-rural regions. This article examines the key challenges and emerging good practices to understand and address child labour in informal economies such as agriculture by using an intersectional and holistic lens. Drawing from the experiences of Global March Against Child Labour (Global March) and its regional partners of more than two decades, this article proposes a holistic, area-based approach to address child labour in the agro-rural regions.

Multinational Enterprises and child labour: Insights from supply-chain initiatives in different sectors

Jolijn Engelbertink and Ans Kolk

This article explores possible ways in which Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) contribute to eradicating child labour in the lower tiers of their supply chains. After highlighting key insights from academic literature and policymaking on definitions and approaches, we examine several innovative multi-stakeholder partnerships—from the coffee, cocoa, and textile sectors—to show how MNEs promote and implement interventions aiming to address root causes of child labour. Engaging with organizations that are well-rooted in local communities and using common and practical definitions seem crucial. We reflect on implications for day-to-day practice and policymaking and for further research.

The Role of NGO-Supported Community Based Schools Gardens in Contributing to Reducing the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Eastern DRC

Cecile Fanton d’Andon, Mark Canavera, Nadine Nkubonage Rudahindwa, Pascal Mongane, Henry Gathercole, and Stefano Battain

The article explores the key findings from a qualitative longitudinal study that observed the implementation and assessed the potential of the school garden intervention in a project designed to reduce the worst forms of child labour in eight school communities in North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo by cultivating crops that can be utilised to reduce the necessity of child labour to support households’ economy. The study generated findings on how to improve the relevance, community ownership, and sustainability of the school gardens intervention to contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of child labour in at-risk communities.

“I’m literally here to hear your story… let them know that”: Exploring Narrative Therapy Approaches with Victims of Child Trafficking, Exploitation & Slavery

Dr. Romana Farooq, Chelsea Addy, Gavin Smyth, and Afua Appiah

Child trafficking is when “children and young people are tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold” (NSPCC, 2021). Child exploitation is “when an abuser takes advantage of a young person for their own personal gain… including sexual exploitation or forcing the child to commit crime” (Cambridgeshire Constabulary, 2021). Modern day slavery is “defined as the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children, women or men through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation” (Public Health England, 2017). There are a high number of cases of child trafficking, exploitation, and slavery in the UK and at present, ‘best practice fit’ routine therapeutic interventions are used with children and young people who have been subjected to, or are at risk of been subjected to, trafficking, exploitation and slavery. Although these can be effective at reducing harm in the short-term, few interventions have been developed which begin to promote long-term and sustainable positive change in the lives of children and young people (Countryman-Roswurm & DiLollo, 2017). Here in this practice paper, we outline the use of narrative therapy techniques with children and young people who have been subjected to trafficking, exploitation and slavery, in particular the Tree of Life Approach (Ncube, 2006). The Tree of Life (Ncube, 2006) is presented as an approach for supporting children and young people to reconstruct personal narratives focussed on resilience and hope.