What is Child Labor?
Not all work done by children should be classified as child labour that is to be targeted for elimination. Children’s or adolescents’ participation in work that does not affect their health and personal development or interfere with their schooling, is generally regarded as being something positive. This includes activities such as helping their parents around the home, assisting in a family business or earning pocket money outside school hours and during school holidays. These kinds of activities contribute to children’s development and to the welfare of their families; they provide them with skills and experience, and help to prepare them to be productive members of society during their adult life. The term “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.
It refers to work that:
Is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling by:
- Depriving them of the opportunity to attend school.
- Obliging them to leave school prematurely.
- Requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with the excessively long and heavy work.
In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.
It refers to work that:
Is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling by:
- Depriving them of the opportunity to attend school.
- Obliging them to leave school prematurely.
- Requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with the excessively long and heavy work.
In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labour” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, the conditions under which it is performed and the objectives pursued by individual countries. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries.
How can we empower people to stop child labor?
We can empower others by informing them on the subject and organizing a group to boycott products or give education to others until a large amount of people have been notified and are helping out. We could start a chain reaction around the world!
What struggles did people go through to pass laws restricting child labor in the United States?
Some of the hardships that people faced while trying to end Child Labor included the fact that many poor families looked down upon Child Labor laws because they needed the money that both the adults and children brought in. It took the Great Depression to end child labor nationwide. Adults had become so desperate for jobs that they would work for the same wage as children. Also, orphaned children were taken off the streets to work for pay while being told that it might pay for them to have a home, therefore causing more people to look down on laws against Child Labor.
What causes or organizations are there that I can join or assist? How can I start my own movement?
Some of the organizations that you can look into or join include:
Now, if you want to start your own organization, here are the steps needed to do so:
1.
Before you start rallying in the street, understand exactly what you are fighting for or against, so you can plan the best method of protest. Read Gene Sharp’s Self-Liberation: A Guide to Strategic Planning for Action to End a Dictatorship or Other Oppression. Use the tools on US Uncut to get started.
2.
Learn about the situation we are in now. Read Nicholas Shaxson's Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens (treasureislands.org). Read Walter Mosley’s Twelve Steps Toward Political
Revelation.
3.
Don’t be a slave to technology. Social media should be only one of many communication tools. Connect online and on-land strategies to make sure they augment each other. Allison Fine, a senior fellow at Demos, writes about the intersection of social media and social change. Go to her blog allisonfine.com, for advice and updates on using technology effectively.
4.
Find five friends who are media savvy, technologically savvy, camera savvy, research savvy and local-organization savvy. Check out the organizing tools on Wellstone for advice on building an action plan.
5.
Remember that police officers are part of the status quo you are rebelling against, so they may consider your protest threatening. Know your rights. Read ACLU's guide on civil disobedience.
6.
Be creative about your planned action. You don’t have to stage a full-blown protest to make a difference. Every time someone speaks out in a Bank of America, they have to report it. Imagine what would happen if they got 100 individual protests in one day! To get inspiration for more creative action, go to Yes Lab, the site of the Yes Men, who target "leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else." Go to US Uncut's website to publicize your action.
7.
Learn how to leverage social media stories to connect with the mainstream. Tape and photograph your protest and send it to your local media. To find the right outlet go to Newspapers.comand Spark Action. US Uncut invites you to send pictures and videos of your action. Learn how to talk to interviewers. Go to “Other Resources.”
8.
Keep the momentum going. Start a website or a blog and update it regularly.
9.
Link with other organizations. Share ideas and attend leadership-building workshops. Go to People For The American Way or Sojustlead.org to check out training workshops. Communicate and assist other regional actions. Work with your state’s Citizen Action group and check out the ones in New York and Wisconsin.
10.
All of us can’t organize or participate in protest all the time. But there are alternatives. Read Gene Sharp's The Politics of Nonviolent Action for 198 specific alternatives. Support the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. Support the
Move Your Money Project to end the monopoly that too-big-to-fail banks have on the economy.
- UNICEF
- International Labor Organization (ILO)
- National Child Labor Committee (NCLC)
- The Child Labor Education Project
- SCREAM (Supporting Children's Rights through Education, the Arts, and the Media)
Now, if you want to start your own organization, here are the steps needed to do so:
1.
Before you start rallying in the street, understand exactly what you are fighting for or against, so you can plan the best method of protest. Read Gene Sharp’s Self-Liberation: A Guide to Strategic Planning for Action to End a Dictatorship or Other Oppression. Use the tools on US Uncut to get started.
2.
Learn about the situation we are in now. Read Nicholas Shaxson's Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens (treasureislands.org). Read Walter Mosley’s Twelve Steps Toward Political
Revelation.
3.
Don’t be a slave to technology. Social media should be only one of many communication tools. Connect online and on-land strategies to make sure they augment each other. Allison Fine, a senior fellow at Demos, writes about the intersection of social media and social change. Go to her blog allisonfine.com, for advice and updates on using technology effectively.
4.
Find five friends who are media savvy, technologically savvy, camera savvy, research savvy and local-organization savvy. Check out the organizing tools on Wellstone for advice on building an action plan.
5.
Remember that police officers are part of the status quo you are rebelling against, so they may consider your protest threatening. Know your rights. Read ACLU's guide on civil disobedience.
6.
Be creative about your planned action. You don’t have to stage a full-blown protest to make a difference. Every time someone speaks out in a Bank of America, they have to report it. Imagine what would happen if they got 100 individual protests in one day! To get inspiration for more creative action, go to Yes Lab, the site of the Yes Men, who target "leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else." Go to US Uncut's website to publicize your action.
7.
Learn how to leverage social media stories to connect with the mainstream. Tape and photograph your protest and send it to your local media. To find the right outlet go to Newspapers.comand Spark Action. US Uncut invites you to send pictures and videos of your action. Learn how to talk to interviewers. Go to “Other Resources.”
8.
Keep the momentum going. Start a website or a blog and update it regularly.
9.
Link with other organizations. Share ideas and attend leadership-building workshops. Go to People For The American Way or Sojustlead.org to check out training workshops. Communicate and assist other regional actions. Work with your state’s Citizen Action group and check out the ones in New York and Wisconsin.
10.
All of us can’t organize or participate in protest all the time. But there are alternatives. Read Gene Sharp's The Politics of Nonviolent Action for 198 specific alternatives. Support the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act. Support the
Move Your Money Project to end the monopoly that too-big-to-fail banks have on the economy.