Four Child domestic labour: a global concern
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Jonathan Blagbrough
Abstract
This chapter deals with child domestic labour, focusing on detailed evidence from such countries as Peru, Togo, Tanzania, and the Philippines. Many employers of child domestic workers are cruel or highly exploitative, and unlike many child labourers, child domestic workers start work at a very young age. The hidden nature of the work makes interventions difficult, and the chapter argues that many of these interventions should be targeted at employers, requiring them to improve the conditions under which children work. In particular, employers should allow children access to education, recreation, and contact with their peers. The impact of family poverty is significant in driving children into this kind of work, often serving wider family needs. The growth of the middle classes in hitherto very poor countries has led to increased demand for cheap servants. This demand is often highly gendered, with an emphasis on girls, who are seen culturally as more expendable, fulfilling roles culturally sanctioned as ‘women’s work’.
Abstract
This chapter deals with child domestic labour, focusing on detailed evidence from such countries as Peru, Togo, Tanzania, and the Philippines. Many employers of child domestic workers are cruel or highly exploitative, and unlike many child labourers, child domestic workers start work at a very young age. The hidden nature of the work makes interventions difficult, and the chapter argues that many of these interventions should be targeted at employers, requiring them to improve the conditions under which children work. In particular, employers should allow children access to education, recreation, and contact with their peers. The impact of family poverty is significant in driving children into this kind of work, often serving wider family needs. The growth of the middle classes in hitherto very poor countries has led to increased demand for cheap servants. This demand is often highly gendered, with an emphasis on girls, who are seen culturally as more expendable, fulfilling roles culturally sanctioned as ‘women’s work’.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements and dedication vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- List of abbreviations xiii
- List of boxes, figures, tables and photos xv
- Introduction: Child slavery worldwide 1
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Strategic overviews
- Child slavery today 21
- Constructing the international legal framework 43
- Just out of reach: the challenges of ending the worst forms of child labour 61
- Child domestic labour: a global concern 81
- Child trafficking: a modern form of slavery 99
- Clarity and consistency in understanding child exploitation: a UK perspective 117
- A human rights approach to preventing child sex trafficking 133
- Child rights, culture and exploitation: UK experiences of child trafficking 145
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Themes, issues and case studies
- Preventing child trafficking in India: the role of education 163
- Birth registration: a tool for prevention, protection and prosecution 175
- ‘Bienvenue chez les grands!’: young migrant cigarette vendors in Marseille 189
- Child domestic labour: fostering in transition? 203
- Extreme forms of child labour in Turkey 215
- Haliya and kamaiya bonded child labourers in Nepal 227
- Sex trafficking in Nepal 243
- The role of the arts in resisting recruitment as child soldiers and ‘wives’: experience from Uganda and Nepal 257
- International adoption and child trafficking in Ecuador 271
- Child slavery in South and South East Asia 285
- Routes to child slavery in Central America 297
- Resources 307
- The end of child slavery? 317
- Index 327
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements and dedication vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- List of abbreviations xiii
- List of boxes, figures, tables and photos xv
- Introduction: Child slavery worldwide 1
-
Strategic overviews
- Child slavery today 21
- Constructing the international legal framework 43
- Just out of reach: the challenges of ending the worst forms of child labour 61
- Child domestic labour: a global concern 81
- Child trafficking: a modern form of slavery 99
- Clarity and consistency in understanding child exploitation: a UK perspective 117
- A human rights approach to preventing child sex trafficking 133
- Child rights, culture and exploitation: UK experiences of child trafficking 145
-
Themes, issues and case studies
- Preventing child trafficking in India: the role of education 163
- Birth registration: a tool for prevention, protection and prosecution 175
- ‘Bienvenue chez les grands!’: young migrant cigarette vendors in Marseille 189
- Child domestic labour: fostering in transition? 203
- Extreme forms of child labour in Turkey 215
- Haliya and kamaiya bonded child labourers in Nepal 227
- Sex trafficking in Nepal 243
- The role of the arts in resisting recruitment as child soldiers and ‘wives’: experience from Uganda and Nepal 257
- International adoption and child trafficking in Ecuador 271
- Child slavery in South and South East Asia 285
- Routes to child slavery in Central America 297
- Resources 307
- The end of child slavery? 317
- Index 327
