Hidden Hands: Unveiling the Global Crisis of Child Labor
- Human Rights Research Center
- Apr 1
- 4 min read
Author: Ivan Francis
April 1, 2025
View the interactive visual report here on Tableau.
Downloadable Version Below.
Glossary
Bonded Child Labor – A type of forced labor where children work to repay a family debt, often in industries like brick kilns, mining, and agriculture, with little to no wages.
Child Labor – The employment of children in work that deprives them of their childhood, education, and well-being, often violating labor laws and human rights.
Conflict Zones – Areas experiencing war, political instability, or armed violence, where children are at a higher risk of being forced into exploitative labor, including mining and smuggling.
Corporate Accountability – The responsibility of businesses to adhere to ethical labor practices, prevent child labor in their supply chains, and comply with international labor laws.
Debt Bondage – A form of modern slavery where individuals, including children, are forced to work to repay a debt, often under exploitative conditions with no clear end to repayment.
Ethical Sourcing – The practice of ensuring that materials and products are obtained in a responsible and sustainable manner, free from child labor or worker exploitation.
Fair-Trade Products – Goods certified to be produced under ethical conditions, ensuring workers, including children, are not exploited and are paid fair wages.
Financial Incentives – Monetary support, such as scholarships, grants, or cash transfers, aimed at encouraging families to keep children in school rather than sending them to work.
Gender Disparity – Differences in the rates of child labor between boys and girls, often influenced by cultural, economic, and societal factors.
Illicit Industries – Sectors operating outside legal regulations, such as human trafficking, pornography, and illegal mining, where children are often exploited under coercion or force.
International Labour Organization (ILO) – A United Nations agency that sets international labor standards, including policies aimed at eliminating child labor worldwide.
Intergenerational Cycles of Poverty – A pattern where poverty is passed down from one generation to the next due to limited access to education, employment, and financial resources.
Inverse Relationship – A statistical concept where an increase in one variable (e.g., education rates) leads to a decrease in another variable (e.g., child labor rates).
Mandatory Education Laws – Government policies that require children to attend school up to a certain age, often implemented to prevent child labor and ensure literacy.
School Retention Rates – The percentage of students who continue their education without dropping out, indicating the effectiveness of school systems in keeping children enrolled.
Subsistence Farming – A form of agriculture where families grow crops primarily for their own consumption rather than for sale, often leading to children working on family farms.
Vocational Training Programs – Educational courses designed to provide practical skills and training for specific trades or occupations, offering an alternative pathway to traditional academic education.
Data
UNICEF. Child Labour. Retrieved from https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-labour/
Our World in Data. Child Labor Data. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/data?q=Child+labor
U.S. Department of Labor – Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Child Labor Data and Charts. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/data/charts/child-labor
U.S. Department of Labor – Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). Child Labor Reports and Research. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab
Sources
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2023). Child Labour Estimates and Trends 2023. Retrieved from https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-labour/
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF). (2023). Child Labour: Global Estimates 2023. Retrieved from https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-labour/
Our World in Data. Child Labor Statistics and Global Trends. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/data?q=Child+labor
U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) - Wage and Hour Division (WHD). (2024). Child Labor Violations and Statistics in the U.S. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/data/charts/child-labor
U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). (2023). Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). (2023). Trafficking in Persons and Child Exploitation. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org
European Commission. Education and Social Protection Policies for Child Labor Reduction. INTPA, 2023, https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Addressing Child Labor in Agriculture: A Policy Brief. 2022, https://www.fao.org.
Gaffar, F., and S. Kämpfer. The Role of Financial Incentives in Reducing Child Labor and Increasing School Retention. International Labour Organization, 2023.
Human Rights Watch. Tobacco’s Hidden Children: Hazardous Child Labor in U.S. Tobacco Farming. 2022, https://www.hrw.org.
International Labour Organization (ILO). Global Estimates of Child Labor: Results and Trends 2023. 2023, https://www.ilo.org.
NPR. Child Labor in U.S. Tobacco Farms: A Legal Yet Dangerous Practice. 17 Apr. 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/04/17/1168824035/child-labor-tobacco-legal-dangerous.
The New York Times. Exploitation of Migrant Children in U.S. Labor Force. 2023, https://www.nytimes.com.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Child Labour: Causes, Consequences, and Policies to Tackle It. OECD Publishing, 2019, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/child-labour_f6883e26-en.html.
United States Department of Labor (USDOL). Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. 2023, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab.
Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The Fight Against Oppressive Child Labor. 2023, https://www.epi.org/publication/fight-oppressive-child-labor/.
de Hoop, Jacobus, and Furio C. Rosati. "Cash Transfers and Child Labor." World Development, vol. 71, 2015, pp. 10-27, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.10.002.
