Peer-reviewed article
Exploring The Perspectives of Child Labour Victims on The Sociocultural Determinants of Child Labour: A Case of Yeji on Lake Volta
Garibah Mensah Dominic, Dolly Paul Carlo ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines why children work as labourers on Lake Volta in Yeji, Ghana. Researchers interviewed 10 working children and held group discussions with stakeholders to understand the social and cultural reasons behind child labour in fishing. The main factors identified were peer pressure, family debt problems, parents' lack of education, and disability or incapacity of breadwinners in families.
Key points
- Peer pressure is a key sociocultural factor sustaining child labour on Lake Volta
- Debt settlement drives families to send children to work
- Parental education levels influence whether children enter labour
- Disability or incapacity of the main breadwinner is a significant factor
- Child labour in the fishing industry is a growing phenomenon in the Yeji area
Limitations
The study is a small-scale qualitative case study with only 10 child participants from one location, so findings cannot be generalised to other regions or fishing areas. The study identifies factors associated with child labour but does not test interventions to reduce it.
Abstract
Child labour is a growing phenomenon on Lake Volta, Yeji in Ghana. However, knowledge about the key sociocultural factors that sustain child labour has been given less attention. This study has addressed this issue by employing a qualitative case study design to collect textual data from research participants through purposive and snowball sampling techniques and conducted Focus Grouped Discussion with selected stakeholders and personal interviews with 10 children who work as child labourers on Lake Volta in Yeji. Based on the thematic analysis, peer pressure, debt settlement, parental education and incapacitation and disability of the breadwinner were the key sociocultural factors sustaining child labour. The finding is potential contributes to both the appraisal theory and the growing empirical literature on child labour in the fishing industry as well as provide immense benefits to policymakers and other stakeholders to reduce child labour in the fishing sector in Ghana and beyond.