Child exploitation is a form of abuse simply it’s the exploitation of natural rights of children. When children are mistreated or intentionally neglected which causes harm or injury and which cannot be reasonably explained as accidental is known as child exploitation. If someone treats the child in an unfair way especially to get an advantage from their work is known as child exploitation. Child exploitation mainly involves blatant abuse such as physical harm or maltreatment, oppression related to sexual abuse, sexual harassment and labour exploitation which affect the mentality of the child like physical, emotional and psychological damage of the child. The term child exploitation is used to refer to situations where children are abused – physically, verbally, or sexually – or when they are submitted to unsatisfactory conditions as part of their forced or voluntary employment (http//ache.co.org.uk).
Those who are under 18 years age group especially minors are called child .A person who has not attained maturity or the age of legal maturity is known as child. Children are the future stars of the nation but the child exploitation occurs all over the world especially in the underdeveloped Asian and African countries. Childs are mainly exploited because many of children’s who suffer from exploitation have no other choice because their parents are poor and they want additional income, the children may be orphaned or by birth they are suffering from diseases like HIV/AIDS etc.They may also have been trafficked or forced into slave labor either in their own country or somewhere in the foreign countries and living a life of struggle, suffering and invisibility.
Child exploitation causes harsh effect in children’s life, if we see the child workers working as labors whose rights has been exploited they have to do dangerous and difficult tasks many of them has lost their life’s ,many of them became disabled ,etc and they have to work for 13to16 hours. Children’s are facing many problems especially the poor children’s have to work for a long hour and they even don’t get the minimum wage and they have to satisfy on that much amount given by the factories administration,office,etc.In rule the children below 18 years are not alleged to work in factories brick kilns etc but many of them have to work due to the low economic status of their parents,poverty,uneducation, etc.They have to do work for a long hours in factories, industries and they are allowed to do dangerous works without having a sound knowledge’s and still they are not getting the minimum wages they have to satisfy on the wages given by their owners. In the context of Nepal the situation is even more critical because 65% of the country’s populations are below the poverty line and most of the children’s especially remote areas, village areas children has to work. For instance: In Kathmandu we see many children’s working in factories, brick kilns, in buses and micros as a conductor which have not only darkened their future but also hampered and degraded the health status of these children’s.
Due to child labors;the quality of life is degrading and they are suffering from various diseases like respiratory diseases, skin diseases, heart diseases,paralysis,etc. For instance, we can observe the conventional phenomenon in children subjected to long hours working on tobacco farms with which it has contracts in the Central Asian Due to the smoke and tars produced from brick factories many children’s has been suffering from skin diseases like skin cancer, lungs cancer,respiratoral diseases like Asthma, bronchitis ,etc. children labor rights has been violated .If we look in the global context as well, different entrepreneurs and production factories has used children’s for doing their work. For instance: Tobacco giant Phillip Morris who produces famous brand cigarettes like Marlboro and chesterfield in 150 countries over the world has sold cigarettes using child labor. Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been forced to admit that child workers as young as 10 have state of Kazakhstan (Shaun walker 2010, Moscow).
The crime of harming a child in a physical social or emotional way is known as child abuse. Child abuse or maltreatment constitutes all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power. Child abuse includes physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. A more global definition of the sexual abuse of children might be “contacts or interactions between a child and an older or more knowledgeable child or adult (Stranger, sibling or person in position of authority such as parent or caretaker) when the child is being used as an object of gratification for an older child or adult’s sexual
needs. These contacts or interactions are carried out against the child using force, trickery, bribes, threats or pressure (kaime Atterhog, 1998)”.
Children who are sexually exploitated and abused are vulnerable to physical, developmental and emotional problems. They are prune to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. Sexually exploited child have to tolerate all the forms of tortures & voilence.Child molestation, cases of battered baby, physical violence like hitting hard with sticks, or hand on fragile area of body like skull, chest,genitalia,etc resulting in serious trauma,bruises,damage to spinal cord resulting in paralysis has been reported in high frequency.
In context of Nepal the major vulnerable group are female of especially under 18 years, they are the weakest section in our community as they can be easily deceived, commanded by force or fear, to improve the economic environment of family especially in rural areas, by imitating other female friends,etc.
The various commercial sexual activities like prostitution, pornography, trafficking is increasing and the children especially the younger girls are being used. The commercial sexual exploitation of children is the use of a child for sexual purposes in exchange for a cash or in kind favours between the customer, intermediary or agent and who profits from the trade in children for these purposes (United Nations).Child prostitution is the world’s most lucrative illegal trade after drugs and arms worth an estimated $8 billion annually (BBC Newswebsite, 1997).
The girls especially under 18 years age who are sexually abused or who are forced to work in a prostitution centre’s may be pregnant and already have a children when they themselves are children(and therefore under higher risks of pregnancy complication) or they may be forced into having an abortion which ultimately causes both mother and child life insecure.
As we all know child exploitation is a serious threat to nation, we can initiate a control step from grass root level to international level under which different organization like UNICEF,ILO,SOS, etc.are working. In 1989 the UN put together the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which outlined the right of children to be protected from economic exploitation, and also the right to be protected from having to perform jobs that could be hazardous to their health or well-being. It also called for a minimum age of employment to be agreed and adhered to. The ILO supports the UN’s policy, and has stated that they believe the minimum age of employment for children should be no younger than fifteen.
One of the best ways you can make a difference in the fight against child exploitation is by donating your time or money to one of the organizations or charities that work to save children from such horrible futures. Your donation will be used to build schools and shelters for young orphans and other children, and will allow for greater monitoring and education programs in the countries in which exploitation is endemic.
In overall view, a good family relationship, favourable environment for female education, creating multi dimensional opportunity for female, uplifting cultural barriers,etc helps to reduce and control child exploitation so, Priority must be given to building relationships – with the child, family, community, organization or institution
and between agencies. The child’s capacity for free, open and joyful expression may be distorted,inhibited and interrupted by sexual abuse, harsh language, creating fear, etc. instead we must encourage them in every aspect of their development. they must be guided from beginning including basic education, sports activity, giving chance to express their ideas & feelings. In case of Nepal; mother stand acts as care-taker, teacher-regarding what is good & what is wrong.
Organization like Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN) is a pioneer organization in Nepal for the rights of the child and against child labor exploitation. CWIN is an advocate organization for the child's rights with focus on children living and working under the most difficult circumstances. CWIN's main areas of concern are child labor, street children, child marriage, bonded labor, trafficking of children, children in conflict with laws and commercial-sexual exploitation of children. CWIN acts as a voice of children through lobbying, Campaign and pressure to the government to protect and promote children's rights in the country, and to end all kinds of exploitation, abuse and discrimination also, rehabilitation centres are established now-a-days for abused child. Day centre’s as well as residential programmes will need to be appropriately staffed to ensure that abused victims are not re-victimized in what is supposed to be a safe place. It must be kept in mind that one direction an abuse victim may take is to over-sexualize relationships, or to cling to potentially dangerous relationships. Thismay contribute to an abuse victim being victimized repeatedly. Knowing this, care must be taken in the organizational set-up, activity schedules, supervision of programmes and staff, and alertness to interaction between participants in programmes.
Effective legislation should be made by government in order to cease child exploitation.Viz. National Master Plan on Child Labor, 2004-2014; the Kamaiya Labor (Prohibition) Act, (2002); National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Children and Women for Sexual and Labor Exploitation (NPAT) -1998; Health Sector Programme Implementation Plan (HSPIP) 2003-2007, NPA on Convention on The Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 2003; National Plan of Action on HIV/AIDS (NPAHA) - 2006-2011, etc.
Though the challenge is tough & time consuming; we must individually contribute what we can do to our society to halt the process of child exploitation. Thus with our joint and united effort we can stop child exploitation.
REFERENCES
(http//ache.co.org.uk)
Shaun Walker (2010), Moscow
(Kaime Atterhog, 1998)
United Nations. (1989).
(BBC Newswebsite, 1997).
National Master Plan on Child Labor, (2004-2014)
NationaL Plan of Action
Health Sector Program Implementation Plan (HSPIP).
