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Child labor

An anticipated 246 million children are employed as child labor. Of those, approximately three-quarters or 171 million toil in unsafe locations or surroundings, such as laboring in mines, dealing with chemicals and pesticides in agriculture or working with hazardous machinery. They are all over the place but imperceptible, working as household servants in residences, toiling at the back of workshops, veiled from sight in plantations.

Millions of girls toil as household servants and unpaid domestic assistance and are particularly susceptible to mistreatment and exploitation. Millions of others work under dreadful conditions. They may be trafficked, compelled into debt repression or other types of slavery, into prostitution and pornography, into joining in armed clashes or other unlawful activities. Nevertheless, the huge mass of child laborers is engaged in agriculture.

The Asian and Pacific areas shelters the biggest number of child workers in the five to 14 age group which is 127.3 million overall. Sub-Saharan Africa has a predictable 48 million child labors. Nearly one child out of three under the age of 15 is employed.

Latin America and the Caribbean have around 17.4 million child labors with 16 per cent of the children working in the region. Middle East and North Africa have 15 percent children who work as child labors. Roughly 2.5 million children are laboring in developed and changeover economies.

Children's involvement in economic activity that does not adversely influence their health and progress or hinder their education can be constructive. Work that does not get in the way of education is allowed from the age of 12 years in accordance with the International Labor Organization Convention 138.

Child labor is more narrowly characterized and describes children working in violation of the above principles. This implies that all children less than 12 years of age toiling in any economic activities, those aged 12 to 14 years engaged in unsafe work, and all children involved in the most horrible forms of child labor.

Woes of children

There is no unanimously acknowledged characterization of child labor. Various meaning of the expression is made use of by international organizations, non-governmental organizations, trade unions and other interest groups.

Not every work is harmful for children. Several social scientists indicate that certain types of work may be entirely agreeable - apart from for one thing about the work that makes it abusive. For example, a child who distributes newspapers prior to school might in fact profit from learning how to work, gaining experience, and make some money. But when the child is not compensated, then he or she is being oppressed.