Child Abuse and Child Labour

An article by detective Nikos Pelekasis in the newspaper Espresso – Child Abuse and Child Labour

Beginning in the 18th century, slavery had been abolished not once, but many times around the world: by Robespierre in France in 1794, by President Lincoln in the United States in 1865, in Paris in 1948, among others.

Exactly 66 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, according to which “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude,” the number of modern-day slaves worldwide amounts to tens of millions.

In fact, on the occasion of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, shocking figures came to light.

The United Nations estimates that 21 million minors today live under conditions of forced labour. The Walk Free Foundation puts the figure at 36 million, while the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates it at 22 million, and other sources place it at close to 27 million. The overwhelming majority of modern-day slaves are primarily women and children.

We are now talking about modern child slavery, in which children approximately between the ages of 5 and 17, and even younger according to UNICEF, work under unsafe conditions, such as in toy factories, where they manufacture parts of toys without the required health and safety standards being observed. These children are subjected to a silent form of abuse and the loss of their childhood. As we see or hear in the media, some of them may not even manage to reach adolescence, as they work under extremely difficult conditions.

Unfortunately, even in 2016, there are young children who are victims of slavery and not only that. We should not fail to mention countries that face some of the most severe problems worldwide, such as India, China, Pakistan, Mauritania and others.

In these countries, as well as elsewhere, unfortunately, these children work under conditions of forced labour, on construction sites, in fields and on ships, without having the freedom to make their own choices or decisions about their future.

Child Abuse and Child Labour

Particularly characteristic are the cases of children who work as domestic servants, living as prisoners — the so-called “invisible” children.

In extreme cases, these are children caught up in online sex networks as well as child prostitution.

There are also young girls who are sold against their will at bride markets in Third World countries to future husbands — often much older than them — as if they were property, going beyond every concept of decency and morality.

Children, because of the physical weakness of their bodies, often become victims of violence by older people who sexually abuse them or subject them to harassment of any kind. Even more than being victimised because of their physical build, children become objects of exploitation because they are still at an age when they have not clearly defined their rights and the boundaries they should set with others.

Fortunately, cases of child labour, prostitution and exploitation of minors in Greece are far fewer compared with other countries around the world, where this phenomenon is common and is even considered completely normal.

Although we are familiar with declarations concerning the rights of the child, from time to time we continue to witness the distressing things that happen to children around the world. Through education and awareness, perhaps day by day, year by year, we will manage to find a way to protect the child who expects us, as adults, to embrace them and to see them grow up under the best possible conditions, in a world that will not oppress them or deprive them of their future. In a civilised world!!