12 June is World Child Labour Day. On this occasion, Unicef revealed an increase of 160 million child labourers by 2020, the majority of which are in Africa. This is due to the spread of Covid-19.

This is the first time ever that child labour has risen in 2 decades, the UN said. The organisation reports that one in ten children aged between 5 and 11 is already working. The number of working minors has risen from 152 million or more in 2016 to 160 million in 2020. This figure shows an increase of 8.4 million in just 4 years.

Boys are the most affected, accounting for 97 million of the total 160 million working children registered at the beginning of last year, or about 60%. The 70%, or 112 million children, are engaged in agricultural work. In contrast, the remaining 20 per cent work in the service sector and 10 per cent in industry.

A large number of child labourers in Africa.

The increase in child labour has been massively recorded on the African continent, according to the UN report. At the beginning of 2020, they were 16.6 million.

According to the ILO (International Labour Organisation) and UNICEF, the main causes of child labour in Africa are: population growth, crises and poverty. Moreover, according to these two organisations, all five continents are affected by child labour, not just Africa. "In a marginal way, we note that child labour also exists in Europe, notably with Roma children forced to beg.”

What future for child workers?

Will there still be a bright future for children who already have an occupation?  Unicef estimates that 79 million children are engaged in hazardous work that can damage their health, morals and safety.

Girls are often sexually abused, according to Jo Becker. "When schools are closed, some girls have had to look after their siblings or clean houses. They are paid less than boys and sometimes suffer sexual violence or slavery. This abuse leads to early pregnancies and the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.”

Most of them also lose the opportunity to return to school. Even more worrying is the increase in the number of children aged 5 to 17 working in mining and fishing. They are at risk of injury from cave-ins and tool accidents, as well as long-term health problems from exposure to mercury, dust inhalation and carrying heavy loads. They work 43 hours a week. This makes schooling almost impossible.

The economic crisis of 2020 forced a number of children to leave school. "Their parents lost their jobs or could not sell goods. Sometimes the children saw them struggling to buy food. It was obvious to them that they had to work for their families to survive," said Jo Becker, child rights officer at Human Rights Watch.

If the health crisis continues, another 9 million to 46 million children will be forced to work by 2022, UNICEF estimates.

Santie

Photo Credit: Humanium

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