Children and Poverty

How to Stop Child Labor: Giving to the Vulnerable

Forcing children into labor at an early age perpetuates the risks and impact of poverty. Give to Compassion’s Highly Vulnerable Children fund. Be a lifeline to a child in danger today.

Highly Vulnerable Children

What is Child Labor?

In impoverished communities, millions of children work simply because their survival depends on it. When a family is very poor, often young children are forced to work to provide for their own care or add to the household income. Imagine a five-year-old going to bed hungry with no hope of food tomorrow unless they work. This is the basis of child labor.

A Child Labor Definition & Statistics

The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines child labor as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.” This includes forced labor conditions that put a child in danger of being mistreated mentally, physically, socially or morally.

The suffering of these at-risk children is global.

Worldwide 152 million children are victims of child labor¹
73 million of these work in hazardous conditions¹
Almost half of the 152 million victims are aged 5-11 years¹

Africa accounts for almost half of child labor (72.1 million), followed by 62.1 million in Asia and the Pacific; 10.7 million in the Americas; 1.2 million in the Arab States and 5.5 million in Europe and Central Asia.

What Are the Causes of Child Labor?

Poverty

Poverty is the single greatest reason for children becoming victims of child labor. UNICEF reports that slightly more than one in four children are involved in child labor in the world’s poorest countries.² Poverty is defined as living on less than $2.15 a day.

Growing up in poverty affects a child’s complete well-being. Child poverty leads to physical compromises including malnutrition and medical conditions. Mentally, a child in poverty is disadvantaged from a lack of education which in turn leads to a lack of opportunity.

Lack of education

In many poverty-stricken communities, the joy of a child learning to read and count can be lost. Putting food on the table outweighs education. Parents may not have attended school and may not understand the long-term importance of education.

Children forced into labor at very young ages are more likely to face barriers that keep them out of school, so they lack basic literacy and math skills. Trying to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work is impossible. It’s not uncommon for a child to walk miles each day for a bucket of clean water.

Cultural and social beliefs

According to the ILO, child labor may be so deeply ingrained in local customs and habits that neither the parents nor the children realize that it is against the interests of children and illegal.³

In the context of poverty in Africa, child labor is considered normal in mineral mining. It's common for generations to work side-by-side mining in tunnels or hauling sacks of ore. By far, the mining sector involves the most hazardous conditions for children leading to work-related injuries, diseases and deaths.

Exploitation

Unfortunately, people intent on committing evil acts in the world often take advantage of those in poverty.

Debt bondage is a common form of modern slavery and occurs when family members faced with hardship incur debt and a relative is forced to work to pay it off.

While unthinkable, parents may willingly or unwillingly hand over their child into the creditor’s employment for little or no pay. With no control over the repayment process, their child can be essentially enslaved for family debt.

The worst forms of child labor put innocent children in danger of exploitation to physical, psychological or sexual abuse. These include illicit acts of slavery, trafficking, prostitution, drug dealing, pornography and even child soldiering.

“Child labor perpetuates poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, population growth, and other social problems.”

— Kailash Satyarthi

What Are the Effects of Child Labor?

The effects of child labor are many. Girls and boys often start carrying out hazardous work at very early ages while their bodies and minds are still developing. They often work with dangerous machinery or in unsafe industries like mining, construction and manufacturing.

Some forms of labor expose children to dangerous materials that can shorten her/his lifespan.

Worldwide, the ILO estimates that some 22,000 children are killed at work every year.⁴ The numbers of those injured or made ill because of their work are not known.

How to Stop Child Labor: Our Highly Vulnerable Children Fund

At Compassion, we believe in the dignity and sanctity of each child. We believe that whether a child is working in the mines of Africa, the fields of Mexico or the factories in India, they deserve protection.

Our Highly Vulnerable Children fund provides support to children who are at risk of exploitation. Support includes foster care, trauma counseling, shelter and even legal assistance.

Together we can fight for the human rights of the child by providing healthy nutrition, educational materials and a safe physical environment to learn and grow.

We also educate the parents of vulnerable children, so they can protect their children from exploitation.

When you give to the Compassion fund for Highly Vulnerable Children you literally rescue a little one from child labor, abuse, exploitation, trafficking, desertion and homelessness.

Help Stop Child Labor Before It Starts. Donate Today.

When you give to the Highly Vulnerable Children fund you offer a lifeline of hope. Your donation will help churches partner with Compassion to intervene with life-saving aid to children who are in a battle for survival and safety.

Want to know how to stop child labor? Partner with Compassion as we work to stop child labor before it starts. Donate today!

Give With Confidence

With Compassion, your donation is used wisely to help children around the world.

Lock Icon We use industry-standard communication protocols to ensure your personal information is encrypted and transmitted without risk.

Trusted Charity Since 1952

Have Questions About Compassion and How We Work?

Donating to a charity is an important decision. So when you’re passionate about a cause and want to make a difference, we encourage you to do your research. Compassion is 100% committed to financial integrity, stewardship and using each dollar wisely. If you have any questions about Compassion or exactly how your donation will be used, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Questions?

Please call us at 800-336-7676, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. MT, to speak with a Compassion representative.

Sources:

¹ “World Day Against Child Labor 12 June” United Nations, www.un.org/en/observances/world-day-against-child-labour.

² “Child Labor.” Unicef, www.data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-labour.

³ “Causes.” International Labour Organization, www.ilo.org/moscow/areas-of-work/child-labour/WCMS_248984/lang--en/index.htm.

⁴ “Hazardous Child Labour.” International Labour Organization, www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/WorstFormsofChildLabour/Hazardouschildlabour/lang--en/index.htm.