Morrow, V., & Boyden, J. (2018). Responding to children’s work: evidence from the Young Lives study in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam
There are ongoing debates about how policymakers respond to children’s work, and the purpose of this report is to include children’s experiences in this discussion, draw attention to the reasons why children work, and identify the key issues that can help policymakers approach children’s work in a more child-sensitive way. In their paper, Morrow and Boyden note that research on young people has revealed many children are working as part of their daily lives to help ensure household survival. Where this work is safe and can be combined with school, children can gain other benefits in terms of personal achievement and skill development.
The authors took out key principles for child-sensitive programming that will help minimise the risk of burdensome work for children while maximising their wellbeing. From the findings, national and global efforts should aim to eliminate the worst forms of work, and child labour legislation needs to be implemented sensitively, which is supported by the fact that governments should develop policies with communities and families so that children who work and their families are neither stigmatised nor penalised.
The other case is that rather than simply imposing solutions, it is important to talk with children and families about the pressures on their lives and evaluate the impacts of potential interventions. In addition, it is important to address family poverty to better support children and their families living in poverty and reduce their reliance on children’s work. The final key principle is to address care work in the home by prioritising interventions that aim to reduce pressures associated with care work within households, such as improved access to childcare or decreased domestic work, relieving the burden most often experienced by girls.
The report recommends that child protection systems must interact directly with children, families, and communities while also taking into account how they can balance school and other aspects of their lives. To ensure that any interventions are consistent with the evidence regarding the actual risks children face, research with children about their experiences is necessary, as this could entail working with employers to enhance workplace health and safety while also making sure that children can go to school and receive guidance and support regarding their legal rights at work.
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