Rescued Child Labor in India: A journey from starvation to poverty

By: Prof. Prabhakar GoswamiFounder/Director, I-India

What is Child Labour

Child labour can be defined as any type of work a child (up to 18 years of age) is engaged in for a large part of the day that is preventing his/her regular attendance and success in school

Why Child Labour is wrong

•Violation of child rights

Child Labour in India

According to 2001 census, number of working children/child labour in India is 12666377

In Rajasthan, it has been reported that 1262570 children are engaged with Child Labour/forced labour work

Child Labour in RajasthanIn Rajasthan, 1262570 children are engaged with Child Labour/forced labour work

Origin/States from children trafficked to Rajasthan

• Bihar• Jharkhand • Uttar Pradesh (UP)• West Bengal • Orissa

Child Labour

Bonded Labour

Bihar- major source for trafficking children Bihar state of India is major source area for trafficking of children for forced labour.

Districts/Regions of Bihar from children trafficked to Rajasthan

• Gaya• Sitamadhi• Rasheedpur• Jahanabad• Madhubani

• Navada• Nalanda• Palamu (Jharkhand )

Reasons of trafficking of children to work

• Starvation-poverty • No work for the adults in village • Big size of family • Family debts /Loans • Pressure from money lenders (To repay loan)• Peer pressures • Attraction towards metro urban cities• Massive flooding and other natural calamity in the region

Reasons to take loan:

Marriage of son or daughter Death of parents Flood/Famine To grow basic agricultural products Chronic-long sickness of family member Migration for employment purpose

Major sectors in which child labor involved

Thousands of children are trafficked every year to work in towns or cities of Rajasthan and especially Jaipur in various unorganised sectors of work

Categorization of sectors:

Gem sectors where children are engaged to work Embroidery (Aari Tari) Beedi (Local cigarette) making Carpet weaving B.T. Cotton Agricultural fields Stone mining work Bricks making places Domestic servants

Situation of Child Labour in Jaipur/Rajasthan

Children under the age of 14 are forced to work in hazardous workplaces and they majorly experienced mistreatment and exploitation by their employers. They usually work for more than 14 hrs a day.

Working conditions:

Over crowded small room in slums No proper ventilation No proper light No safe drinking water Poor shower facilities (Twice in a week) No proper bedding No fan, even during summer time (44-45 degree C)

Rescue operation conducted by I-India

In a major crackdown against child labour, Jaipur police, Childline Jaipur and I-India rescued nearly 117 children on June 18, 2011.

Facts about rescue operation:

Child help line got information about child labor at particular point. Child Help Line contacted police to rescue children. Childline workers, police and social workers strategized the operation They reached to work place and performed raid Children's employers were arrested and children were sent to custody of Child Welfare N.G.Os /shelter homes.

Facts about rescued children:

117 boys rescued through this operation

about 21 children belongs to the age group of 6-10 yrs

about 22 children belongs to the age group of 11-13 yrs

about 69 children belongs to the age group of 14-17 yrs

58 children out of 117, identified as literate (basic education)

around 70% children trafficked through close relatives

30% children trafficked through well organized agents

average household size of children: 6-8 family members

around 90% children reported that they were daily working 10-14 hrs with 30 min lunch break.

Facts about rescued children:

13%

21%

35%

19%

12%

INR 500-900 per month

INR 1000-1400 per month

INR 1500-2000 per month

INR 2000 per month

No payment

Remuneration being paid to children

Facts about rescued children:

Major health problems identified among rescued children

Tuberculosis Skin problem STD Eyes problem Loosing parts of body- fingers, hands etc. Deformation of bones or backbone Malnutrition Depression Gastric problems

Post-Rescue procedure: I-India has arranged temporary stay of all rescued children at one of the shelter home and provided them necessary care in terms of food, water, clothes, shelter, medical assistance, legal aid and most importantly support to contact his family and guardians.

Post-Rescue procedure aims at:

Building trust and confidence amongst children. Providing them appropriate living facilities. Addressing their Socio-Psychos problems. Contact with parents and informing about their children. Filling counseling formats by interviewing each child. Statements recording of each child by Government, Labor Department Presenting each child to medical board for examining their health status. Producing before Child Welfare Committee for judicial action. Rehabilitation of children.

POST RESCUE PROCEDURE

POST RESCUE PROCEDURE

POST RESCUE PROCEDURE

MOVIE CLIP ON POST RESCUE PROCEDURE

Long Term Rehabilitation: Despite of several formalities with government after or while rescue and post rescue procedures, long-term rehabilitation is a crucial step to ensure that a child is mainstreamed into society and is not re-trafficked.

Initiation of important steps for long term rehabilitation:

• Reuniting children with families.• Attaching children with social welfare agencies. • Asking Government of their states to start some vocational training program in their respective states and help the children. • Ensuring compensation to each child from the Government for their exploitation.• Helping children's families so that they don't rejoin same work as child labor.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation

Thank you!