Recent studies estimate that 168 million children aged 5 to 17 (with around 120 million of them below age 14) are involved in child labor. Millions of other children are forced into slavery, child soldiering, drug trafficking, or sexual exploitation. While these rates are slowly declining, child labour remains a threat to economies around the world. The children that are employed at a young age are frequently familiar with violence and deprived of education.
But how do these children come to work in the first place? Several factors contribute to these circumstances, with the greatest factors being poverty, emergencies, migration, rare work opportunities, and social norms condoning this practice. However, a major issue with child labor is that it reinforces these practices and impedes progress toward the fulfillment of children’s rights, especially as many children lack education due to being employed instead of attending school. Those children then do not have the means to climb higher in terms of economic status, as they are not qualified for many opportunities that require an education.
Many dangers are associated with child labor. In the Philippines, children cheat death in order to dive for gold. In the United States, child workers are often exposed to pesticides on farms. The list goes on and on and many of these hazards create risks that these children will be in an accident or develop a health issue later in life. However, besides being physically dangerous to children’s heath, working conditions often deprive children of stimulation during an essential mental developmental period in their lives. This exposes them to the risk of not developing emotionally and can also result in psychological or behavioral damage that can remain with them for life.
What are some ways to lessen the prevalence of child labor? Companies can take small steps to decrease the prevalence of child labor by vetting every aspect of their supply chain and employing independent inspectors to conduct random checks on supplier facilities. In addition, they can work with organizations such as UNICEF to eliminate any aspects of their operations relating to child labor by implementing sustainable solutions.
Recently, a human rights organization alleged that Apple, Samsung, and Sony failed to conduct regular inspections to ensure that materials they use are not associated with child labor. Because of this, the organization is claiming that children as young as seven are working in dangerous conditions to mine cobalt, an important component of lithium-ion batteries used in tech products. Some of the hazards associated with mining cobalt are risks of long-term health problems, unsanitary conditions, and fatal accidents. In response to the recent allegations, Apple issued a statement that said: “Underage labour is never tolerated in our supply chain and we are proud to have led the industry in pioneering new safeguards.” While all the companies are investigation the claims, all of them have issued statements talking about their zero tolerance policies. However, companies can avoid this bad publicity and risk of exposing themselves to liability by implementing standards for suppliers and partners to prevent this practice in the first place and hold everyone associated with their business accountable for maintaining the same standards. Child labor is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but each individual and organization can play their part in reducing its prevalence by taking small steps.
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