Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
may be equally as in need of assistance as those aged 17 years or under.
'Unaccompanied' young people who have been orphaned, displaced or
who are seeking asylum outside their country of origin often face diffi-
culties in providing proof of age and demonstrating their entitlements
to assistance when they lack birth registration or identity documents,
or parents/adult relatives who can advocate on their behalf.
Children, Youth and Work
The involvement of children and youth in work from a young age rep-
resents a key feature of many childhoods in the global South that con-
flicts with universal models. From the 1990s onwards, global concern
about children's involvement in employment that harms their health,
development and reduces their access to education has led to concerted
international efforts to eliminate child labour, led by the International
Labour Organization (ILO). The overall proportion of children involved
in child labour globally has declined over the last decade, with an esti-
mated 215 million children involved in child labour (ILO, 2010b).
However, these global figures mask considerable differences between
regions, genders and ages. The largest number of child labourers live in
Asia and the Pacific; however, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest lev-
els of child labour as a percentage of the child population, with over a
quarter of children (25.3 per cent; 65 million) involved in child labour,
compared to 13 per cent (113.6 million) in Asia-Pacific and 10 per cent
(14 million) in Latin America and the Caribbean. While the number of
children (aged 5-14) working declined in all other regions from 2004-
2008, it increased sharply in sub-Saharan Africa. Reasons cited for the
high levels of child labour in sub-Saharan Africa include historical and
cultural influences, the impacts of structural adjustment, economic
restructuring and rapid growth of the informal sector in the poorest
world region, the large youthful population and the effects of HIV- and
AIDS-related adult ill health and mortality (Bass, 2004).
Despite high profile anti-sweat shop campaigns and consumer boycotts
of global fashion brands due to child labour concerns in recent years, the
majority of child labourers globally continue to be unpaid family labour-
ers working in agriculture (60 per cent of working children aged 5-17 in
the world work in agriculture, 25.6 per cent in the service sector, 7 per cent
in industry, 7.5 per cent not defined: ILO, 2010b). Boys are more likely to
work in agriculture, mining, construction and as hawkers in the informal
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