The enforcement of children’s rights has been an issue of global debate for a while now and international organizations and countries are still looking at the best ways of eliminating instances that infringe on the rights of children. A common framework of enhancing these rights has been rendered difficult due to the varying instances of child abuse and child labor that are common in different countries or regions of the world ( Khakshour, Abbasi, Sayedi, et al., 2015). Most countries have come up with legislation governing issues dealing with children to curb the infringement of their rights. International organizations dealing with children have also come up with guidelines for countries to follow in a bid to enforce children's rights.
Child labor affects many countries although the manner of labor that children are exposed to varies. In Jamaica, the legislature passed the “Child Care and Protection Act 2004” to deal with issues involving children's rights. The Act defines child labor as the putting to work of persons below the age of 18 years. This does not mean that people under the age of 18 years are completely prohibited from working but particular guidelines have to be followed to ensure they are not being exploited or prevented from doing other necessary activities such as studying by the virtue of their work. In the helping profession, it is a common occurrence to come across situations where children are forced to work for a living denying them various rights such as the right to education, and the right to a conducive environment for their growth and development. As the world changes due to globalization, so does the nature of child labor thus individuals in the helping profession need to be conversant with various instances of child labor, and the various laws applicable in addressing child labor issues.
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From a cultural perspective, child labor may be interpreted in different ways that may not all be agreeable with existing international or national legislation. In many poor countries, especially agricultural communities, children have traditionally been used as a source of cheap manual labor in farms and even factories ( Radfar, Asgharzadeh, Quesada & Filip, 2018). Poor families were also noted to push their children into contributing to the family income at very tender ages with children as young as 9 years having to work in various capacities to help the family earn an income and thus a living. In Jamaica, as of 2011, upto 16000 children between the ages of 5 and 17 years were said to be involved in some form of labor with the agricultural sector taking in upto 60% of these child laborers (SOS Children’s Village, 2011). The history of child labor in farms in Jamaica dates back to colonial days where children would be put to work alongside their parents. This historical perspective of child labor easily seeped into the country’s culture and it is a normal occurrence for children to work in a bid to raise their family incomes. The Child Care and Protection Act 2004 was passed to deal with this issue and ensure that this exploitation of children is dealt with. This legislation was also quite necessary since the nature of work children below 18years were engaging in had now shifted to other forms such as prostitution, pornography, and even the illegal drug business.
Internationally, the United Nations advocates for the rights of children through UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Fund). UNICEF takes a secular approach when dealing with the rights of children as it does not subscribe to any religious dogma while handling issues dealing with children. In November of 1989, the UN held a general convention on the rights of the child and members agreed that childhood was a period that required special protection and are entitled to extra care and assistance than adulthood ( UNICEF, n.d). The convention enforced the perspective that any a child refers to any person under the age of 18 years and that any issues being resolved in or out-of-court involving children will always put the best interests of the child first. This secular perspective of dealing with the rights of the child is necessary for the solving of disputes in the diverse global society where people subscribe to different religious and cultural beliefs that may have varying interpretations of child labor thus the secular perspective acts as a unifying perspective that all people can refer to.
From a Christian perspective, the exploitation of children is also not encouraged with employers encouraged to pay their employees a fair wage and not to exploit them. The bible does not expressly talk about at what age of working would it be considered child labor but interpretations of various bible verses show that Christian teachings are not for the exploitation of children and that they should be allowed to be children until that time when they will have matured and can carry themselves as adults.
Various dilemmas present themselves when it comes to the issue of child labor in the helping profession. In poor countries, families usually send their children out to work on the farms to earn some money for their daily living and even be able to supplement their parents' income and pay their school fees. As a profession in the helping profession, one is therefore torn between stopping these children from working and letting them continue to work and earn some money. Would it be justice for them to be withdrawn from working to protect their rights but in the process compromise their chance at earning enough money to feed their families and get an education? This is an example of some of the dilemmas people in the helping profession encounter and have to address daily. As a professional, one has to address these issues on a case-to-case basis being careful to ensure the law is applied but also that the rights of the child are not infringed upon ( Asnes & Leventhal, 2010). The bottom line is to ensure that the best interests of the child have been considered in that particular situation.
References
Asnes A. G. & Leventhal J. M. (2010). Managing Child Abuse . Pediatrics in Review , Vol 31 (2) 47-55; DOI: 10.1542/pir.31-2-47
"Child Care and Protection Act of 2004." Ministry of Justice, Jamaica. http://ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/71421/112009/F-2005162127/JAM71421.pdf
Khakshour A., Abbasi M. A., Sayedi, S. J. et al. (2015). Child Labor Facts in the Worldwide: A Review Article. Int J Pediatr, Vol.3, N.1-2, Serial No.14. http://ijp.mums.ac.ir/pdf_3946_eea4453cf93c7c96a384f65f3c2f815e.html
Radfar, A., Asgharzadeh, S., Quesada, F., & Filip, I. (2018). Challenges and perspectives of child labor. Industrial psychiatry journal , 27 (1), 17–20. https://doi.org/10.4103/ipj.ipj_105_14
SOS Children’s Village (2011). “Jamaica Takes Steps to End Child Labor.” SOS . https://www.soschildrensvillages.ca/jamaica-takes-steps-end-child-labour
UNICEF (n.d). Convention on The Rights of the Child . https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text
