Running Head: THE CHILD STRUGGLE !

The Child Struggle

Camryn Benbow

Arizona State University

THE CHILD STRUGGLE !2

Abstract

Child labor is a problem that is overseen in many cases. Many children in third-world countries

are forced into child labor. Child labor can range anywhere from field work, factory work, selling

items on the street or even forced into prostitution. These working fields come with many serious

health conditions. However, some people may agree with child labor because the children need

to help out with their family because they are below the poverty line and also because child labor

helps out the country’s economy. Children should be in school getting an education instead of

working long continuous hours because child labor has many effects on the children’s physical

and mental health.

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Child labor has become a common issue around the world, especially in third world

countries. Children are working in poor conditions which causes health problems, and have little

to no education. However, some children need to work in order to help their family make a

living, and many people agree with child labor because it helps the country’s economy. Children

should be in school getting their education, as it is their human right, instead of having high

chances of death, health risks, and mental problems from poor working conditions that they are

forced to work in.

Abebe, T., & Bessell, S. (2011). Dominant Discourses, Debates and Silences on Child Labour in

Africa and Asia. Third World Quarterly, 32(4), 765–786. Retrieved from https://doi.org/

10.1080/01436597.2011.567007

Professor Abebe and Dr. Bessell focus their research on child labor specifically in Africa

and Asia. Tatek Abebe is an Associate Professor in Childhood Studies, Sharon Bessell is a

professor at the Crawford School of Economics and Government. Abebe and Bessell researched

other scholars as far back as the 1970’s that have the same argument; that childhood is for

learning and having fun, not working. Many of the scholars concluded childhood is where

children learn to be vulnerable, have economic security, and be social in different environments.

Abebe and Bessell also researched scholars who believe children should work in order to help

their family make a living. Many children work in Africa to maintain the upkeep of the economy

and learn cultural skills. Many other children work to provide for the family, and in exchange for

religious education. In Asia and Africa, Abebe and Bessell stated that child prostitution is a

problem in both continents. The intended audience of this journal is for people who want to help
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and make a change in the child labor industry because many children are being forced into

prostitution in parts of Asia and Africa.

Berlan, A. (2013). Social Sustainability in Agriculture: An Anthropological Perspective on Child

Labour in Cocoa Production in Ghana. Journal of Development Studies, 49(8), 1088–

1100. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2013.780041

Dr. Berlan focusses on the child labor is Africa, specifically on the cocoa farms. She is a

doctor and is a Reader at De Montfort University. Berlan discovered that 88% of cocoa farms in

Côte d’Ivoire used forced child labor. According to the Ghanaian government’s National

Programme for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa, during cocoa

season between the years 2005-2006, children between the ages 5-12 were tasked with during

hazardous work which included working with insecticides, fire and fertilizer. These can cause

serious and dangerous health issues for the children. The children who work on the cocoa farms

are not enrolled in school, drop out of school to work on the farms, or have to balance both

working on the farm and go to school. Berlan’s intended audience is people who want to see a

change in child’s rights. This article emphasizes child labor in third world countries, particularly

in Africa on the cocoa farms.

Bhat, B. A. (2013). Forced Labor of Children in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Industry. International

Journal on World Peace, 30(4), 61–85. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/

login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=93262273&site=ehost-live

Bilal A. Bhat an assistant professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Social Science at Dr.

Dr. Bilal A. Bhat is an assistant professor at the Jammu and Kashmir Institute of

Management. He also has a Ph.D in Sociology. Dr. Bhat wrote about child labor in the Middle
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East, but focussing in on Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Dushanbe. Dr. Bhat writes about how so

many children in these countries come from extreme poverty backgrounds, and their families

force them out of school to work on farms, private companies, family businesses, family criminal

businesses, and selling goods on the street. This is very similar to Dr Berlan’s article where

children are forced to drop out of school, or balance both school and work on the cocoa

farms.This article emphasizes child labor in third world countries, particularly in Uzbekistan,

Tajikistan and Dushanbe. Dr. Bhat is informing people about the child labor in the Middle East

and for people who are wanting to make a change in the Middle East.

Brannstrom, C. (2016). The Discovery of Hispanic Child Labor in Agriculture in the Lower Rio

Grande Valley, Texas: A Life Geography Approach. Annals of the American Association

of Geographers, 106(3), 705–721. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/

10.1080/24694452.2015.1131142

Christian Brannstorm is a Professor and Associate Dean at the College of Geosciences.

Brannstorm writes about the life of Amber Arthun Warburton who worked for the U.S Children’s

Bureau and witnessed the harsh child labor in the 1940’s. She mostly witnessed the child labor in

agriculture. She was the first scientist to ever report child labor in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

She reported the poor living conditions, their income sources, how many of them have school

problems and the children’s health issues. Similar to Dr. Berlan’s article, children working in the

field are exposed to chemicals that effect their health. Even though this took place in Texas in the

1940’s, it shows child labor has always have a negative impact on children. Brannstorm wrote

about Amber Arthun Warburton’s discoveries to show that child labor has just gotten worse over

the years.
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Gómez, P. J., Alsamawi, A., Yamasue, E., Okumura, H., Ishihara, K. N., Geschke, A., & Lenzen,

M. (2016). Consuming Childhoods: An Assessment of Child Labor’s Role in Indian

Production and Global Consumption. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 20(3), 611–622.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12464

Jorge Gomez-Paredes, Ali Alsamawi, Eiji Yamasue, Hideyuki Okumura, Keiichi N.

Ishihara, Arne Geschke, and Manfred Lenzen wrote this article on child labor in India. They

work on college campuses around the world. India has one of the highest rates of child labor.

Over 9 million children are child laborers in India. They are mainly working in the agricultural,

food industry, making clothing, minerals and constructing materials. Out of those 9 million

children, 85% did not attend school. Again, children who child laborers have very little to no

education. 44% of the children who are working, come from families who are below India’s

poverty line. Similar to Dr. Bhat’s article, children in the Middle East are forced to work because

their families are below the poverty line. These authors are writing to inform people what is

going on in India because the number are very high. The authors also shine a light on the child

labor in India because so many well developed countries are buying the products and goods that

are coming from children’s hands.

Haque, M. R., Mostofa, M. G., & Islam Mondal, M. N. (2015). Determinants and Effects of

Child Labor in Agriculture Sector of Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. Oriental

Anthropologists, 15(1), 77–89. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=aph&AN=114185696&site=ehost-live

This article was written by Md. Rajwanul Haque, Md. Golam Mostofa and Md. Nazrul

Islam Mondal. They are all professors at the Population Science and Human Resource
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Development, Rajshahi University, Bangladesh, Population Science and Human Resource

Development. These authors wrote about the effects of child laborers. The majority of child

laborers are in the agriculture industry, which is one of the most hazardous industries for child

laborers and they are exposed to numerous chemicals. Similar to Dr. Berlan’s journal, the

children who are working in the cocoa fields are exposed to dangerous and hazardous health

risks. Some children are working at most a 42-hour week. These authors intend this journal for

people who are interested in how child labor effects to economy in a country. Even though they

touch base on the negatives of child labor, they are more interested on what child labor does for

India’s economy.

Kis-Katos, K., & Schulze, G. G. (2011). Child Labour in Indonesian Small Industries. Journal of

Development Studies, 47(12), 1887–1908. Retrieved from https://doi.org/

10.1080/00220388.2011.561327

Krisztina Kis-Katos and Günther G. Schulze are the authors of this journal. They are

affiliated with the department of International Economics, at University of Freiburg, Germany.

They write about how child labor has a negative impact on child development. This is a similar

concept to Abebe and Bessell’s journal because they wrote about how childhood is suppose to be

the time for children to learn and grow. Kis-Katos and Schulze also concluded that child labor

mainly effects the children who come from families below the poverty line, which agrees with

many other sources. The percentage of child laborers aged 10-14 in Indonesia dropped 16.9%

over a 47 year span. This was caused by the rising living standards, the decrease in family sizes

and structural change in the agriculture and cotton industries. Kis-Katos and Schulzeare are

informing readers about child labor in Indonesia.

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Rammohan, A. (2014). The trade-off between child labour and schooling in India. Education

Economics, 22(5), 484–510. Retrieved from https://doi.org/

10.1080/09645292.2011.641271

Anu Rammohan is the author of this journal. She is a professor at the Faculty of Arts,

Business, Law and Education, UWA Business school. Rammohan touches base on child labor

and schooling in India. Rammohan writes that girls are most likely to be working and not

enrolled full-time in school in India. As stated in Gomez-Paredes, Alsamawi, Yamasue,

Okumura, Ishihara, Geschke, and Lenzen’s journal. Child labor is based on adult education

levels. If a country has a low adult education level, child labor is very high. If a country has a

high adult education level, then child labor is low. Child labor also depends on the parent’s

education level as well, and the number of hours the child works. Rammohan is also writing

about the economy level in India based off the child labor rates. People who are interested in the

economy level, would be interested in this article. However, this article touches base on the child

labor in India, and how high the numbers are.

Sturrock, S., & Hodes, M. (2016). Child labour in low- and middle-income countries and its

consequences for mental health: a systematic literature review of epidemiologic

studies. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 25(12), 1273–1286. Retrieved from

https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s00787-016-0864-z

The authors are Sarah Sturrock and Matthew Hodes. They are both affiliated with

Imperial College, London. Sturrock and Hodes focus on the mental health that children endure

from child labor. Some of those effects are ADHD, demoralisation, anxiety, behavioral issues and

other mental health problems. Some of the worst types of child labor are prostitution, drug
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trafficking, use of children as slaves and sale or trafficking of children. Like in Abebe and

Bessell’s journal, child prostitution is a problem within the child labor industry. Sturrock and

Hodes intend to write this article for people who are curious on the facts of child labor. This also

shows that child labor also doesn’t have physical effects, but also mental.

Thabet, A. A., Matar, S., Carpintero, A., Bankart, J., & Vostanis, P. (2011). Mental health

problems among labour children in the Gaza Strip. Child: Care, Health &

Development, 37(1), 89–95. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/j.

1365-2214.2010.01122.x

The authors are A.A Thabet, S. Matar, J Bankart and P. Vostanis. They all work at

universities round the world. In their study, children reportedly had depression, anxiety and

separation anxiety. Similar to Sturrock and Hodes’s journal, child labor doesn’t always effect

physical health, but also mental. These authors conducted a study of children who were actual

child laborers. They intend to get the information out there and inform people what is really

going on with child laborers. This also shows mental health is just as important as physical

health when it comes to child laborers. Their attended audience is for people who want to know

more about what child labor can do to children, also to scientist who are interested in a study like

this because these authors did a study on the children.