Negative Effects of Child Labour
Written by: Ms Nikita Kumari
ABSTRACT
Child Labour is the work done by the children that harms them or feats them in some ways such as physically, mentally, morally, and hindering the possibilities of their education too.
Around the world, there are millions of people that are trapped in child labour which forces them to spend their lives in suffering and poverty. Child labour is not limited to only one sector of the society but it is feast over several sectors, like agriculture, manufacturing, mining and domestic service, etc.
The negative effect of child labour is mainly the difficulty faced by the children in doing their work and the condition of their working. This causes many problems such as drug dependency, premature ageing, malnutrition, physical and mental sleekness, depression, etc. These all make more difficulties for the developing countries.
Child illiteracy depends on economic causes which affect a country in many manners. A child who becomes a worker will not be able to have a normal life like education, or live their life like all other children and will be condemned to become an illiterate adult, having no possibility to grow up
in his or her professional and social life as other do. Children are also kidnapped and then transferred across borders and then sold to be prostitutes in foreign countries. It is really very difficult for children to get out of this status quo and very tough for them to deal with what they have experienced physically and mentally.
BACKGROUND
Child Labour has a background since many eras, this isn’t the case of the past few years. But once people start looking at the matter it will become an issue, the same is happening with child labour. As per Census 2011, the number of child labourers in India between the age of 5-14 years was 8.22 million in which the child who was the main worker was 4.35 and the child who worked as marginal workers were 3.87 million.
The net of child protection and safety needs to be tautened significantly to address the crucial issue of child labour. For example, data obtained from the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) specifies that 59026 reviews were done nationally in 2012 out of which only 435 cases were condemned. The extent of child labour in India is grave and all legislations, guidelines, and enforcement equipment related to children should take into awareness the enormity of the issue.
INTRODUCTION
All work done by children should not be classified as child labour that is to be battered for eradication. Children’s or youngsters’ involvement in work that does not affect their health and personal expansion or delay with their schooling, is generally observed as being something positive. This includes happenings such as helping their parents everywhere in the home, supporting in a family business, or producing pocket money outside school hours and during school breaks.
These kinds of activities underwrite children’s development and the well-being of their families; they provide them with assistance and experience and help to prepare them to be creative members of society during their adult life. Child labour is defined as the work is done by the children that deprive them of their childhood, dignity as a child, their potential, and that harms them in many manners.
NEGATIVE EFFECT
Child labour effect the country in every manner such as it shows the overexploitation of population, decrease of resources, decrease in literacy, increase in poverty, an increase of unemployment, lack of schooling and daily wages or care failure of government & limited choice for the poor parents, etc. The effects of hazardous child labour vary from skin disease to asthma to fatal injuries.
Hazardous child labour causes not only physical but also mental and behavioural problems for the children. Every day, approx. 168 million children across the world go to work instead of going to school. In addition to denying them the joy and advantages of a normal childhood and education, much of the labour they undertake is dangerous and unhealthy.
Mostly, child labours are found in emerging areas, with children working in almost every sector of the society, even in the sectors considered as awfully hazardous like mining, construction, fishing, inflammable substance, and explosives related work.
From deprived backgrounds, minority groups, or abducted children from their families, these children do not have protection. Their employers do whatever is necessary to make them completely invisible and are thus able to exercise absolute control over them. These children work in humiliating conditions, deflating all the principles and fundamental rights grounded on human nature.
Moreover, a child who works will not be able to have a normal education and will be fated to become an illiterate adult, having no opportunity to grow in his or her professional and social life. In some cases, child labour also imperils the dignity and morals of the children. Especially, when sexual exploitation is involved, such as prostitution and child pornography are there. Furthermore, a child who works is more unprotected from malnutrition.
These children are frequently victims of physical, mental, and sexual violence. The worst form of child labour emphasizes all kinds of slavery or similar practices such as forced labour, trafficking, debt bondage, serfdom. It also includes illegal activities and/or activities likely to imperil the safety, health, and morals of children, such as prostitution, wagering, pornography,
forced or compulsory recruitment for armed conflict, drug trafficking, etc.
These problems may prevent children from having full-time education and will increase the percentage of uneducated youth. This problem had many negative impacts on children, especially in poor countries. Working children will have no time to study and this will affect their thoughts, education, and their whole life.
Child illiteracy depends on economic causes, has much paraphernalia on countries, and endures many resolutions but none of them put a strident end to this problem. New ideas or resolutions should be applied such as inserting strict rules that condense this problem. Children’s education is a right that helps societies to develop properly, but it is seriously affected by child labour.
According to The International Labour Organization (ILO), child labour is the activity performed by children who is younger than 15 years of age to earn money. The financial situation of poor families will increase out of school children. People in underdeveloped countries suffer from difficult living conditions. Parents will not be able to help all their children to go to school. It is more significant to live than to learn. And this is why the law has been implemented in this regard to provide free and compulsory education to every child until they attain the age of majority as per the Constitution of India.
The foulest forms of child labour are all forms of suppression or analogous practices such as forced labour, trafficking, debt bondage, vassalage. It also embraces outlawed activities and activities likely to imperil the safety, health, and morals of children, for example, prostitution, pornography, begging, forced or compulsory recruitment for armed conflict, drug trafficking, are forced to dawdle the streets and beg, etc.
Child labour and mistreatment are the results of many factors, including poverty, social norms condoning them, lack of decent work opportunities for adults and teenagers, relocation, and tragedies. These factors are not only the cause but also the significance of social biases toughened by discrimination. Generally, child labourers can suffer from long-term health problems due to malnutrition, exposure to chemicals, abuse, injuries, illiteracy, exhaustion, sexual harassment, and psychological harm.
Such as, children may have to sit bent concluded in one position or crawl in small places which can cause defacement, spinal injuries, and exertion walking straight. This could be the work such as breaking bricks and rocks for the construction of road, making matchsticks, crowded through a mine, making bricks. Many times, the children have either no safety equipment, or it is adult equipment, which does not fit properly and does not provide proper protection.
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