Child labour
Millions of children around the world have to work to support themselves and their families, especially in South Asia and Africa. Many do light or part-time work, but others are involved in dangerous or exploitative labour that harms their development, wrecks their health and denies them an education. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has estimated that 250 million children between the ages of five and fourteen work in developing countries, at least 120 million of these on a full time basis.
Work is not always bad for children. It is possible for children to take part in economic activity that does not negatively affect their health and development or prevent them from attending school. Work that does not interfere with education (light work) is permitted from the age of 12 years under the ILO Convention 138.
'Child labour' refers to children working in contravention of certain health and education standards. Child labourers are defined as all children below 12 years of age working in any economic activities, those aged 12 to 14 years engaged in harmful work, and all children (under 18) engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The 'worst forms of child labour' are defined as those which involve children being enslaved, forcibly recruited, prostituted, trafficked, forced into illegal activities, and exposed to hazardous work.
Poverty, within the family or community, is the main reason why children have to go out to work. For many families, income from the work of the children makes the difference between survival and destitution.