ILO: new report on the struggle of domestic child labour

Contextually to the World Day Against Child Labour celebrated last 12th June, the International Labour Organization (OLI) has launched the report "Ending child labour in domestic work".

The report's goal is to stimulate a communal and concret action at national and international level with the purpose to eliminate domestic child labour. ILO statistics estimate that about 10,5 millions children all over the world work as domestic collaborators in hazardous and sometimes slavery-like conditions. Besides, always according to the data provided by the report, six and a half millions of these children workers are between 5 and 14 years of age; more than 71% of them are little girls. Among the tasks usually carried out by children: cleaning, ironing, cooking, gardening, collecting water, looking after other children and caring for the elderly.

Vulnerable to physical, psychological and sexual violence and abusive working conditions, they are often isolated from their families, hidden from the public eye and become highly dependent on their employers. Many might end up being commercially sexually exploited.

Presenting the report, Constance Thomas, Director of the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), highlights how the situation of many domestic children workers not only constitutes a serious violation of children rights, but remains an obstacle to to the achievement of many national and international development objectives. Still according to Thomas, the adoption of a strong legal framework is more necessary than ever in order to clearly identify, prevent and eliminate child labour in domestic work, and to provide decent working conditions to adolescents when they can legally work.