Stop Child Labor
Raising Awarness for children across the globe struggling with child labor
Raising Awarness for children across the globe struggling with child labor
In the period 1760-1840, Child labor became significantly used as the need for labor grew due to the Industrial Revolution. Children as young as 5 years old and on average 8 years old, began working in factories and on farms, in a wide variety of occupations, in incredibly dangerous conditions, and for only about 10-20% of the pay adult workers would receive.
In 1836, Massachusetts created the first state child labor law. Young children becoming employed in mills worked for over 12 hours a day, with little to no education. This brought the first laws to control child labor, in 1836, Massachusetts required that children under 15 working in factories must attend school for 3 months a year.
In 1904, The National Child Labor Committee was founded. The National Child Labor Committee was established with the goal of abolishing child labor and the idea of "promoting the rights, awareness, dignity, well-being and education of children and youth as they relate to work and working." They used photographic work to illustrate the lives and working conditions of children forced into labor.
The Child Labor Act of 1916. A labor act that banned the sale of any products from factories or shops that employed children under the age of 14. Any companies or factories that didn’t follow this law were subject to fines or imprisonment.
The Revenue Act of 1919. This was an indirect way child labor was regulated, by imposing a ten percent tax on companies that performed child labor.
1976 marks the establishment of the Minimum Age Convention. The International Labour Organization’s Convention 138 becomes international law. Known as the “Minimum Age Convention,” it sets out to abolish child labor among school-aged children.
On April 24, 1994, the murder of a Pakistan boy marks a turning point in child labor. A 12 year old boy from Pakistan was allegedly killed after winning international recognition for his campaign against child labor. The prime minister's response to this killing was that getting rid of child labor would be an “evolutionary process”. Iqbal Masih actions in abolishing abusive child labor were massive and he was a huge symbol of the fight against child labor.
In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act was created. It's an act approved by congress in 2001 aimed to improve schools around the US. This act increased accountability of schools with new tests, and funding. This relates to child labor because children will have easier access to schools and better resources surrounding it.
June 12, 2002 is known as the international launch to World Day Against Child Labor. The International labor organization launched the first official world day against child labor which is now celebrated each year on June 12. Its goal is to spread awareness to the whole world against working children. It’s intended to help boost the worldwide movement against child labor.
In 2021, there was an updated release of current child labor numbers. There has been an increase of 8.4 million children in child labor in the last four years and a 6.5 million increase in the number of children engaged in hazardous work as of 2021.
