Research Paper On Child Labour

Introduction

“Extreme poverty, lack of opportunity for gainful employment, low income and standards of living are the main reasons for widespread prevalence of child labour. Child labour is easy to identify in the organized sector, however here the problem is on a very miniscule level. The bulk of the problem exists in the un-organised sector where utmost attention needs to be paid”.

Child labour can be understood as a global phenomenon, as from a very long time it has been a part of the society and thus it can’t be denied. Before getting deep into a conversation about child labour we should focus on what it means. As per the international labour organisation:

“Child Labour” is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their

• Whether or not these children have any rights and if yes, what are those rights?

Methodology

The paper is mainly based on comparative study between Indian laws on child labour and contrasting differences between them and international laws, treaties and conventions. The data has been collected from different books, journals, research papers and other reading materials available on child labour, both online and offline. The paper therefore tries to provide a realistic overview of the situation of child labour in the country and around the world.

Background

Child abuse has for a long time been recorded in literature, art and science in many parts of the world. Reports of infanticide, mutilation, abandonment and other forms of violence against children date back to ancient civilizations. History shows a record of how many children who were considered undesirables have been cast out by families and made to fend for themselves and of those who have been sexually

182.

A comparison of the 2001 and 2011 census in India gives us the status of child labour in the past decade. From the table below, we can observe that the level has fallen drastically.

There are a total of 5 states that account for the biggest child labour employers, namely- Bihar, UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Over half of India’s Child Labour population works there. UP accounts for over 20% of India’s Child Labour.

As per the data compiled by the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) for 2015, 8800 cases of child rape were registered under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). In approximately 25% cases, offenders were found to be employers or co-workers.

International Treaties and