Causes

Most children, who work at the expense of their education, belong to poor families in which child work is part of the family strategy for survival. Nevertheless, not all working children are poor and not all poor children work.

Here are a number of important KEY FACTORS that lead children to work but most of these factors are interrelated, making it difficult to separate them when trying to understand the causes of child labour. Often several of these will combine to push a child into work.

Social inequalities

There are often social inequalities based on differences of gender, race, caste, social class, religion or disability and these have an influence on what type and amount of work children do. Where children face discrimination they may find the only options left are harmful forms of work. A parent’s low social status or caste can make this even more likely.

Access to quality education

Some children work because they lack access to a decent education. There may not be a local school, the costs of going may be too high (e.g. fees, uniform, books, and transportation) or the education offered may be of poor quality (e.g. overcrowded, poorly equipped or untrained teachers). In addition, school may be seen as irrelevant to their needs or the school day may not fit in well with the times they need to work.

Where educational opportunities are limited, working may be seen as a better option because it offers financial reward in the short term. Although many children do combine work with school, and even work to pay for their schooling, tired working children may find it more difficult to concentrate in the classroom or need specific support that schools cannot provide. On a national scale, governments may not be funding education sufficiently, either because they have not prioritized it or because they don’t have the money to invest in it.

Save the Children believes that improving access to education has to be a key focus for getting children out of work.

• Join the Global Campaign for Education

Culture

Another influence is traditions and cultural beliefs about childhood and work. In many parts of the world, work is seen to help teach children the skills they will need as adults. This may influence the decisions parents make about their children working, but also children themselves may see work as part of growing up – a ‘rite of passage’ into adulthood, or a ‘role’ for them within their family. For some, particularly older adolescents, they may feel that work will provide them with the status and self esteem that can be attached to working and earning money.

Cultural traditions sometimes suggest that children follow in the footsteps of and help with their parents’ work, such as family agriculture. It is really important to remember that different societies may have quite different views of the idea of ‘childhood’ and ‘work’ to those of the average person in the UK or Spain.

Vulnerable situations

The more vulnerable a family is or a child becomes, the more likely that children will work.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has produced huge numbers of orphans and seriously eroded the working population, making children more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of their need to survive. Natural disasters can increase the vulnerability of families, making it necessary for children to work to help the family survive. Sometimes homes and schools are destroyed altogether, putting greater pressure on children to work. Armed conflict can push children to work when they are lured or forced into the fighting themselves or when the main breadwinner is forced to leave home and the children assume that responsibility. Save the Children has launched a big campaign, Rewrite the future, to get children affected by armed conflict back into school. During a family crisis such as sudden loss of employment, families may get into debt or suddenly face a struggle for survival. This is sometimes the cause of the most exploitative and dangerous forms of child labour.

Demand for child labour

In many countries the high demand for unskilled and poorly paid workers translates into high economic demand for child labour. Children are paid less, are more easily manipulated and less likely to claim their rights or be absent from work so sometimes employers target them for particular jobs. Children often perform simple tasks that adults would be less likely to carry out but sometimes they do similar work to adults, making the overall economic impact of child labour quite complex, varying according to particular situations and locations.

On a global scale, the demand for child labour is also fuelled by the consumption needs of countries, including the UK and Spain, who import cheap goods produced in developing countries. One way for us to try and avoid supporting this is to buy goods we know are fairly traded.

• Find out more about Save the Children’s approach to combating child labour