CHILD LABOUR

INTRODUCTION CHILD HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT “SOCIAL ISSUE” IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY LIKE INDIA

CHILD LABOUR Child labour represent a fundamental abuse of children rights are a violation of various laws. Many working children are engaged in occupations that negatively affect there physical, mental and emotional wellbeing and are below their minimum age for employment

SPECIAL FOCUS ON INDIA

CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA According to the amendment in child labour act 1986, a ban is imposed on employing children Age group between 5-14 years More than 120 million children's around the world 44million children's in India U.P. has the highest number of child labours More than 80% are employed in villages, that also in agriculture and non-formal activities like livestock rearing, fishing etc

CHILD ABUSE CHILD ABUSE A recent study on Child Abuse: India 2007, conducted by Ministry of Women and Child development (GOI) revealed that across different kinds of abuse, it is young children, in the 5-12 year group, who are most at risk of abuse and exploitation.

Two out of every three children were physically abused. Out of 69% children physically abused 54.68% were boys. Over 50% children were being subjected to one or the other form of physical abuse Out of those children physically abused in family situations, 88.6% were physically abused by parents. The State of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi have almost consistently reported higher rates of abuse in all forms as compared to other states. 50.2% children worked seven days a week. PHYSICAL ABUSE

53.22% children reported having faced one or more forms of sexual abuse. Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest percentage of sexual abuse among both boys and girls % child respondents reported facing severe forms of sexual abuse and 50.76% other forms of sexual abuse. Children in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi reported the highest incidence of sexual assault. 50% abuses are persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility. SEXUAL ABUSE

FACTS FACTS According to the Indian census of 1991, there are million working children under the age of fourteen years in India. Over 85% of this child labour is in the country's rural areas, working in agricultural activities such as fanning, livestock rearing, forestry and fisheries The world’s highest number of working children is in India. ILO estimates that 218 million children were involved in child labour in 2004, of which 126 million were engaged in hazardous work. Estimates from 2000 study suggest that 5.7 million were in forced or bonded labour, 1.8 million in prostitution and pornography and 1.2 million were victims of trafficking. In India, 1104 lakh children are working as labourers.

The Hindi belt, including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, account for 1.27 crore working children in the country, engaged in both hazardous and non-hazardous occupations and processes. Over 19 lakh child labourers in the 5-14 age group are in Uttar Pradesh. Rajasthan accounts for over 12.6 lakh workers followed by Bihar with over 11 lakh and Madhya Pradesh with 10.6 lakh. However, according to the 2001 census, in state- wise distribution of working children in the 5-14 age group, Andhra Pradesh with 13.6 lakh child labour stands second in the national list after UP.

REASONS ‘ Poverty’ is the main push factor Parental illiteracy Absence of universal compulsory Primary education Ignorance of the parents about the adverse consequences of child labour Ineffective enforcement of the legal provisions pertaining to child labour Lack of educational facilities or poor quality of education Employers prefer children as they constitute cheap labour and they are not able to organize themselves against exploitation

LAWS OF CHILD LABOUR IN INDIA The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 prohibits employment of children below the age of 14 years in any factory or any hazardous employment Any person who employs child he is liable for punishment with imprisonment for 3 month which can be extended to 1 year or 20,000Rs fine It Provides free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years Many beggar childrens and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and violation of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law

CONSEQUENCES Adult unemployment Depreciation in wages Increased abuse of children Increased bottlenecks in the development process Wasted human resources Wasted human talents and skills Suffer injuries and illness from work Not accessible to education

AWARENESS Widespread awareness generation to create a positive climate for children to go to school and not to work. Effective utilization of print and electronic media. Programme are to be conducted on child rights. Incentive should be given to teachers by way of ‘Best Teacher Award' for enrolment of child laborers and dropouts into Formal Schools. Observance of a specific day as ‘Anti Child Labour Day’. (June 12th is being observed as Anti Child Labour Day by ILO)

CHILDLINE Introduction Started in 1978 Situated all over INDIA in 73 cities Started in 1996 in Mumbai as a ‘CHILD INDIA FOUNDATION’, Grant Road Works under CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE (CWC) Has large networking system

VISIT TO CHILDLINE

From last five years in Kalyan Head In charge - Mr.SHARAD Toll free no Name is ‘AASRA SANSTHA’ in Kalyan It covers Dombivli to Badlapur and Kalyan to Titwala Last year received 1,30,000 calls 30,000 calls have been fulfilled up till now Hires Professional Counsellors for child rehabilitation and to develop them mentally and socially CHILDLINE IN KALYAN

WHAT ‘WE’ CAN DO AS A PERSON TO STOP CHILD LABOUR ? To donate funds in NGOs working for the rehabilitation of street children To make the rural people aware about the benefits of education To provide free education for the orphans To contact NGOs and make them aware about child labour happening in our society To start campaign against child labour. To help the government to stop child labour

CONCLUSION CHILD LABOUR IS A CURSE TO THE INDIAN SOCIETY AS WELL AS OUR ECONOMY. ALONG WITH THE GOVERNMENT WE ALSO HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AND SHOULD TAKE CORRECTIVE MEASURES TO STOP CHILD LABOUR SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A BETTER AND DEVELOPED INDIA