Nigeria has one of the highest numbers of child laborers globally, with over 15 million children forced to work instead of attending school. Poverty, lack of access to quality education, Gender Inequality and socio-economic challenges drive this issue. Today, on World Day Against Child Labor, we stand together to condemn the exploitation of children worldwide and reaffirm our commitment to eliminating child labor in all its forms.
The critical failure in leadership in Nigeria have created gross poverty and unemployment levels in urban and rural communities. These challenges has a higher impact on women and children due to the fact that they are more likely to experience violence as a result of increased stress on lack of basic needs, be denied an education among many other deprivations such as being subjected to child labor.
The wide discrimination on the basis of sex that causes one gender to be more privileged over the other is prevalent in Nigeria. Hence these disparities makes women/girls susceptible to various forms of abuse due to the several power dynamics at play.
Additionally, Illiteracy is a precursor to prevalence of GBV, there is a profound relationship between between illiteracy rate, poverty, ignorance of human rights and social inequality.
In children this is manifested in many forms including child domestic work and child marriage.
The Plight of Nigerian Children.
Children as young as 5-7 years old are engaged in hazardous work, such as agriculture, street hawking, and domestic servitude when they are meant to have access to education. Many are exposed to exploitation, abuse, and denial of their basic rights.
Types of Child Labor practiced in Nigeria.
1. Agriculture: Children working in farming, fishing, and livestock, often for minimal pay.
2. Almajiri Begging System: Children sent to beg for money, supposedly for Quranic education and also been used as accompanists for their relatives living with Disabilities to beg for money.
3. Hawking: Children sell goods on streets, often in traffic.
4. Lifting and carrying loads: Children engage in manual labor.
5. Domestic work: Children working as domestic servants in homes and also as sales assistants in shops.
Gender Dynamics.
Girls are more likely to be engaged in domestic household chores (62.2%) compared to boys (50.8%). They are also more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation.
As first respondents to cases of SGBV in grassroots communities, we have rescued over 50 children in different abusive situations and have implemented several initiatives focused on rescuing and increasing re-enrollment of out of school girls who are child domestic workers back to school and providing financial assistance to impoverished families to reduce the economic necessity of child labor.
We have executed several sensitization programs on child abuse and violence against children in rural communities and orphanage homes as well as spoken on different platforms about the impact of poverty on children.
We have also implemented educational advocacy campaigns in over 25 Schools with about 5000 participants and through these programs, we have rescued Children in abusive situations whom are now placed in shelters/government approved orphanage homes or foster homes or restored with their biological parents.
The abuse situation ranges from physical abuse ( Bite marks, burns, fed with dangerous substances, canes, assault, pepper on the body to sexual abuse: rape, sodomy, sexual harassment, to emotional abuse (denying child from contacting parents, isolating child) to psychological abuse and economic abuse: denial of owed payment for work done.
Our most proud moments are associated with seeing the our Rescued Children thrive academically. One whom we rescued from a relative who was biting off her body parts had All A’s in her WAEC Exams while another who was rescued from a sexual abuse situation at her aunt’s house after her mother’s demise was given double promotion in her new school.
One of the girls spoke about her ordeal on our podcast : https://www.spreaker.com/episode/dohs-podcast-e4–49489750
RECOMMENDATIONS.
1. Educational Programs to increase school enrollment and retention.
2. Economic Support: Provide financial assistance to vulnerable families.
3. Legal Enforcement: Strengthen Laws against Child Labor and hold perpetrators accountable for child exploitation.
4. Community Awareness: Change cultural perceptions about gender roles and education.
Let’s work together to create a world where every child can thrive, learn and grow without exploitation.