Why does child labour happen

These children are particularly vulnerable to forms of exploitation, including child labour, due to an increase in economic shocks, a breakdown of social support, education and basic services, and disruption of child protection services. The incidence of child labour in countries affected by conflict is almost twice as high as the global average.

Children are also vulnerable to becoming involved in armed conflict, this is considered one of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. SDG Goal 8. With million children involved in child labour worldwide, we still have a long way to go.

Programmes and policies which take into account the voices of the communities where child labour occurs, and the root causes, can advance real and sustainable progress in the fight against child labour. According to the experts, the main reasons for the emergence of child labour in bigger cities are unhealthy family life and economic deprivation.

Families strained by financial difficulties cannot cope with the increasing demands of their children and sometimes even fail to provide them with adequate nutrition. This appears to be the main reason children look for their own sources of income. In socially disadvantaged, alcoholic or morally bankrupt families, pecuniary challenges are often coupled with destructive dynamics in the relationships. These factors combine to spur children into the street, temporarily or permanently, leading them to a vagrant existence, required too early to make independent decisions.

Economic hardships and family dysfunction can therefore be named as the main causes of child labour. Another important cause mentioned by the experts is the overall social and economic situation in the country. Some children work in illicit activities like the drug trade and prostitution or other traumatic activities such as serving as soldiers. Children have been found harvesting:. Children in commercial agriculture can face long hours in extreme temperatures, health risks from pesticides, little or no pay, and inadequate food, water, and sanitation.

About 14 million children are estimated to be directly involved in manufacturing goods, including:. Child laborers suffer extremely high illness and injury rates in underground mines, opencast mines, and quarries. Children as young as 6 or 7 years old break up rocks, and wash, sieve, and carry ore.

Nine-year-olds work underground setting explosives and carrying loads.