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Example research essay topic: Child Labor Negative Consequences - 1,987 words

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The History of Young Children being exploited for Cheap Labor In my essay I will reflect on the history of child labor and discuss the state of things that exists in today society. For this purpose I will define the concept of exploitation of child labor. Then I will set the historical background of this issue and narrate the history of young children being exploited at the close of 18 th century in Great Britain and in the period of industrialization in America. Afterwards, the next part of my essay will be dedicated to exploitation of children that takes place nowadays. I will enlighten the state of this problem in the whole world and in America, in particular. This will help to show how the exploitation of child labor has developed since the 19 th century, its causes and results.

In my conclusion I will sum up the advantages and disadvantages of the phenomenon of child labor in modern world. The aim of my essay is to state the problem that still exists in the contemporary society and to prove that exploitation of children for the purposes of obtaining cheap labor and low wages is harmful and must be eliminated. The concept of exploitation of child labor preoccupies that a childs labor becomes exploitative when the child begins to be seen primarily as an economic commodity and the necessity to work denies other important childhood experiences. (Statement of Child Exploitation, 1997) Of course, a child may work and gain a valuable experience that can prompt a childs development and acquisition of some professional skills, his sense of responsibility, and his participation in a joint community enterprise. But a childs labor experience should not deprive him from education and satisfaction of the needs that are beneficial for his development. For example, childs employment should not cause his malnutrition or deformity or result in stunting and disease.

In other words, a child may assist adults or perform some duties but these activities should not be harmful for the physical processes that occur in a childs organism, or his moral and emotional development. The history of child labor had a significant turn at the beginning of the 19 th century when this kind of labor became recognized as harmful for children and the first efforts to reduce this phenomenon were made. The movement against the wide usage of child labor was set in Great Britain. In this country the rapid development of manufacturing had resulted in exploitation of young children in industrial work and mining. Thus, in 1802 the British Parliament passed the law that was designated to control the apprenticing of disadvantaged children to owners of cotton-mills. This law proved to be ineffective to fight the whole problem and, later, in 1833 another law was passed.

It was called - the Factory Law and aimed at establishing a system of factory inspection. At the beginning of the 20 th century the problem of exploitation of child labor was discussed on an international level. In 1900 the International Association for Labor Legislation was set in Switzerland. This association had its branches in 16 countries and primarily it dealt with standards and promoting child labor provisions as a part of other international labor legislation. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Child labor).

In America the rates of exploitation of child labor were increasing due to the industrialization and urbanization of the country. Vicki Hambleton in the book The Working Man wrote that by 1900 the United States had been overflowed by immigrants looking for a better life. These people were attracted to living in big cities and getting jobs in American factories and plants. However, as the author noted, the U. S.

cities were not prepared to receive such a huge amount of newcomers and, consequently, this situation resulted in bad housing conditions, poverty and unemployment. The wages were very low, the rents were high, even higher than most families could afford (Vicki Hambleton, p. 14 - 18) so in many families, mothers and even children became wage earners. Thus, children of the families with little economic means worked in coal mines, meatpacking factories, textile mills, and sweatshops [ 1 ]. These children did not attend school, and their working day was equal to the working day of their parents, but the young laborers were paid less. For example, boys who picked slate out of coal from 7 a. m.

to sundown received one dollar per week. In this way, the exploitation of children increased in America and in 1870 the U. S. Census estimated that 700, 000 children between ten and fifteen years old were working. (Vicki Hambleton, p. 14 - 18). By 1910 the number of working children had grown up to 2 million.

Finally, the American government had to take some steps in order to diminish the rates of exploitation of children. The negative results of this exploitation were quick to follow: the employment of children ruined their health and provoked their soon deaths. Vicki Hambleton reported that hard labor caused deformation of spines of children; those ones who worked in factories very often lost their fingers and arms. Bad working conditions, such as poor lit production rooms, bad ventilation, resulted in frequent cases of tuberculoses and bronchitis among children. (Vicki Hambleton, p. 14 - 18). Thus, taking into consideration the mentioned harmful effects of heard work, by the end of the 19 th century many states in America passed laws that limited child labor. And in 1938 the government format to employ children that are younger than 16 years during their school hours.

Today, officially in such developed countries as the United States, Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand children less than 15 years old rarely work except the spheres of commercial agriculture. This was achieved due to America the Fair labor Standards Act (1938). It set the minimum age that is 14 to employ a child outside of his school hours for non manufacturing jobs. At the age of 16, according to this Act, a child can be employed during his school hours in interstate commerce; while at 18 a youth can get an occupation that is called hazardous. Thus, due to the protection of the legislation in each of the countries, it is believed that the problem of exploitation of child labor does not exist in mentioned areas. Nevertheless, in developing countries it is well-known that young children still work in factories, mines, fields, quarries and severe enterprises.

Due to the official statistics, for instance, in some countries of Middle East child labor makes up about 10 percent of all the labor force; in Latin America and some parts of Asia working children are estimated to make up from 2 to 10 percent of the labor force. (Encyclopedia Britannica, Child labor) Unfortunately, nowadays exploitation of child labor has not been eliminated in any country of the world despite all the efforts made. There are some reasons for this. First, that child labor is cheap and in this way, it is profitable for commercial enterprises; second, children are pliant and docile unlike adults who are apt to fight for better conditions and higher wages; third, poverty as the cause and the sequence of exploiting children. According to U.

N Human Development Report (1995), 1. 3 billion people in the whole world live in absolute poverty, they earn less than 1 dollar per day. So, child labor will be offered and, thus, demanded until poverty exists. Naturally, the necessity of child labor appears when the adult members are unable to provide their families with basic needs, first of all food and shelter. In their turn, recruiters facing an alternative to choose between a child and an adult are likely to employ the younger one and pay him less.

This does not improve the financial state of the childs family as well as it doesnt diminish the range of poverty in the area. Thus, it is evident, that the exploitation of child labor is profitable only for owners of commercial enterprises, and is not to the advantage of the country, its society, and the individuals being exploited, in particular. Nowadays, as the International Labor Organization reported, there are more than 250 million child workers globally (Guardian Weekly, November 17, 1996). This statistics does not include domestic workers, who are about ten millions all over the world. However, 95 percent of all estimated child workers live in developing countries. In Africa there is the highest percentage of child labor, Asia has about a half of all child workers, while Latin America accounts for 15 - 20 percents. (U.

S. Dept. of Labor, Vol. 1, p. 2) Many children are drawn into commercial agricultural sector working for corporation or a landowner. Thus, 15 - 20 percent of all the workers employed at worlds plantations are children.

This practice is common for both developing and developed countries, and, for example, in the United States 100000 children are estimated to work illegally in agriculture. (Children: The Forgotten Farm workers, ' The Fresno Bee, December 13, 1994. Cited in testimony before Congress by Paris Harvey, executive director of the International Labor Rights Education and Research Fund) Sometimes, parents send their children to urban areas to find work and supplement family income. In some countries, children are sent to work to pay off their parents loans. For instance, in India 10 million child laborers are estimated to be in chronic bondage [ 2 ]. (International Child Labor Hearing, " U. S. Department of Labor; April 12, 1994; Statement of South Asia Coalition on child Servitude).

Modern world has developed one more form of child exploitation sexual slavery. Sometimes children are ticked to slavery or kidnapped, or just sold into it by their poor parents. As one of the negative consequences of this process, children who are sexually exploited very often have sexually transmitted diseases that scar them for the rest of the life. In the United States children are not immune to such exploitation and they become the victims of illegal drug trade and prostitution. According to the sad facts, 125000 200000 teenage children become involved in prostitution each year. (Children for Sale Fact Sheet, " Office on Global Education). In conclusion I would like to say that exploitation of child labor still remains a critical problem for the contemporary society.

I have pointed out some causes of this phenomenon: they are poverty and unemployment. I have also shown that today the process of exploitation of children has been altered due to the development and the changes that occur in our society. Thus, sexual slavery as another kind of child exploitation has appeared. I have also discussed the negative consequences of the phenomenon and it turns out that exploitation of child labor affects physical, moral and thus emotional health of a child; additionally it is not advantageous for a nation as it spreads poverty and ruins morality. On the whole, this phenomenon is beneficial only individual owners that, certainly, can not overweight all the harm it causes. End notes: Sweatshops are those shops and factories where employees work long hours in uncomfortable, poor conditions for small wages.

Chronic bondage, close to debt bondage, i. e. when a child works to pay off the debts of the parents. Bibliography: Child labor, Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica Deluxe Edition 2004, Britannica Inc. The Report of the International Labor Organization, Guardian Weekly, November 17, 1996 Children for Sale Fact Sheet, " Office on Global Education, (Church World Service and Witness), Baltimore.

Children: The Forgotten Farm workers, ' The Fresno Bee, December 13, 1994. International Child Labor Hearing, " U. S. Department of Labor; April 12, 1994. Statement of Child Exploitation, the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference, 1997.

Vicki Hambleton: The Working Man, Cobblestone, 2000, pp 14 - 18 U. N Human Development Report, 1995 U. S. Department of Labor, By the Sweat and Toil of Children, Vol. 1, 1995, p. 2.


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Research essay sample on Child Labor Negative Consequences

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