Types of Child Labour
Children and young people work in a wide variety of different areas. These include:
Providing care within a family, for example to a sick adult relative.
Domestic work - This may be paid or unpaid and provided wither to a relative or non-relative. This is sometimes referred to as a hidden form of child labour. This is because it is not easily visible and is rarely covered by campaigns on child labour. Most of the children and young people involved in domestic work are girls.
Different forms of agriculture - including both commercial and subsistence farming.
Selling items on the street .
Transportation of goods.
Work in warehouses and factories.
Work in the fishing industry.
Mining.
Work in the military.
Selling sex. This may involve very young children.
Some forms of child labour may not always be harmful to a child, such as domestic work or agriculture. Whether or not harm occurs will depend on the conditions the child works under. However, other forms of child labour such as working as a soldier or selling sex always mean that the child involved is vulnerable to harm.
Harmful Effects of Child Labour
There are many harmful effects of child labour. These include:
Low pay . Children and young people are often paid much less for work done than adults, for example they may only receive one quarter of adult wages. There is also evidence that increased use of child labour reduces adult wages. This is because child labour increases competition for jobs directly and indirectly by enabling more women to work.
Long hours . Some children and young people are expected to work excessive hours, for example, up to 12-16 hours per day.
Loss of educational opportunities . Many children and young people who work either withdraw from school or find that their educational performance declines because of the work they are doing.
Physical harm . Working children may experience physical harm in a number of ways. These include:
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