Child Labor and Trafficking




Since 2002, World Education has been using education to address abusive forms of child labor. The International Labor Organization defines child labor as "work situations where children are compelled to work on a regular basis to earn a living for themselves and their families, and as a result are disadvantaged educationally and socially; where children work in conditions that are exploitative and damaging to their health and to their physical and mental development; where children are separated from their families, often deprived of educational and training opportunities; where children are forced to lead prematurely adult lives."



The worst forms of child labor are those situations where children work more than nine hours in a day; earn less than a minimum wage or no wages at all; work in hazardous conditions for health and safety; have no access to education; and, work outside of their family's home. World Education and its partners are reaching those children in the worst forms of child labor, including those exploited for the commercial sex industry and other forms of bonded labor in Africa and Asia. World Education is also working with children at risk of becoming child laborers, which means they are not enrolled in school; they are victims of domestic violence; they are orphaned or have only one parent; and, they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation.


To reduce child labor, World Education and its NGO partners are equipping children, aged 8-14 years old, in labor situations or at risk of being put into a labor situation with the basic skills and life skills boys and girls need to protect themselves and create opportunities for the future. From vocational and practical skills training to basic literacy classes for children, World Education helps girls and boys learn about personal safety, opportunities to enter or reenter the formal school system, and equips them with practical vocational skills.


An estimated 158 million children aged 5-14 are engaged in child labour - one in six children in the world. Millions of children are engaged in hazardous situations or conditions, such as working in mines, working with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with dangerous machinery. They are everywhere but invisible, toiling as domestic servants in homes, labouring behind the walls of workshops, hidden from view in plantations.

In Sub-Saharan Africa around one in three children are engaged in child labour, representing 69 million children.
In South Asia, another 44 million are engaged in child labour.
The latest national estimates for this indicator are reported in Table 9 (Child Protection) of UNICEF's annual publication The State of the World's Children.




Children living in the poorest households and in rural areas are most likely to be engaged in child labour. Those burdened with household chores are overwhelmingly girls. Millions of girls who work as domestic servants are especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.


Labour often interferes with children’s education. Ensuring that all children go to school and that their education is of good quality are keys to
preventing child labour.







"Every child should be in school and enjoy childhood”