| dc.description.abstract | Child domestic labour involves children aged below 18 years who work in people's households, especially third parties, doing domestic chores. Most children work hidden away from public scrutiny and vulnerable to different forms of physical and psychological mistreatment. The International labour Organization (ILO 2006) estimates that globally, there are more than 218 million children aged between 5 and 17 years engaged in child labour, out of which 126 million work in the worst forms. According to UNESCO's Institute of Statistics (2008), 75 million children of primary school age do not attend school - 55% of whom are girls. Many of them are forced to work because they are poor, and their families cannot afford to send them to school.
According to the Kenyan Economic Survey (2009), about 1.0 million children aged 5-17 years are working in Kenya, out of these, 951,300 children work either for pay, profit or family gain. The problem of child domestic labour has been overwhelming for many decades, its solution hopeless. There is paucity of data on child labour and especially on domestic child workers. In addition, although some aspects of child domestic workers such as education and skills training have received attention from researchers, we are not sufficiently informed on the psychosocial consequences of domestic labour on children in Kenya.
This paper investigates child domestic labour and its outcomes on the psychosocial wellbeing of children engaged in domestic work. It also addresses the cause, extent and nature of child domestic labour in Kenya. The study was carried out in Machakos District, and confirms that child domestic labour exists and persists in Kenya. The study combined quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. A sample of 100 children aged between 10 to 18 years was selected randomly within 4 divisions. It was' noted that the minimum age of entry into domestic labour was 10 years. Furthermore, although more girls are involved, boys are also increasingly being engaged in domestic labour.
The root causes of child domestic labour are multiple, 52% of the children respondents cited that their parents had no financial capacity to support them. Additional factors included orphanhood, domestic violence and inaccessibility of quality education. Children are pulled to work because it is easily available through family contacts, friends or agents. To be employed, the job requires least experience and skills as opposed to other jobs. Child labour has serious social and psychological consequences that stay with the child long after their childhood. The working environment is both hazardous and exploitative. The children work in households for up to 18 hours, with no scheduled rest.
The work includes a combination of labour intensive in door and outdoor tasks such as cooking, washing and gardening among others. There are numerous hazards in domestic work such as severe burns from gas explosions, boiling water, chemicals and electricity. Others are dangerous cuts and injuries from handling sharp objects, carrying heavy items and falling on slippery floors. Most of the workers are hardly treated in humane ways, they are excluded from family social functions and when they get sick, they rarely get adequate medical attention.
The workers are overly criticized for simple mistakes. In the study, the workers said they experienced wide-ranging negative feelings; 46.4% said they had suicidal feelings, 34% felt unwanted and worthless while another 8.2% had other feelings such as being resentful and hostile towards others. Child domestic workers earnings are little and far below the minimum wage in Kenya as stated by 31% who earned below Ksh 500 per month. They enjoy no work benefits; have no job security and the work has no defined terms of service. Due to strict schedules, they do not have time to form meaningful social relationships. Their social support networks are minimal. They may be fired for small infractions; employment turnover is high as stated by 64.3% who worked less than a year in one household. Incidents of abuse are common.
The study found out that there are major gaps in eliminating child domestic labour and recommends enhanced action by the State, Development Agencies and the general populace. Eliminating child labour starts with individuals examining their position and deciding to stop employing or encouraging the use of children in labour. The state should implement without further delay, the Child Labour Policy initiated in 2004.
There is also urgent need for the Government of Kenya to step up programs that monitor and withdraw children working in the domestic front, providing viable alternatives such as formal and informal education and empowering them with vocational skills. Technical and financial support should be provided to parents and guardians to come up with alternative means of earning so that they can allow children to go to school. Finally the Study recommends that all actors should strengthen child participation and inter agency cooperation as a means of preventing entry in to child labour and increasing opportunities to withdraw children from domestic labour. | en_US |
