This article shows how a policy of income transfer, such as remittance payments from a high-income country, can reduce child labour, a target for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, by turning the terms of trade in favour of the transfer-receiving country. This is a novel policy measure because it utilises an existing international economic event, known as income transfer, without imposing a significant financial burden on national governments. This reduces inequities in the global labour market without creating economic and non-economic turmoil resulting from policies involving bans or other alternatives to bans.
This piece will focus on how the Restavek child slavery system in Haiti is underpinned by migration, gender and commodification. Haiti is the poorest country within the Western hemisphere (Wagner, 2008). Its Restavek system of child domestic slavery is ingrained within society due to tradition and culture, affecting approximately 300,000 children (Mauraszkiewicz et al., 2015). The term Restavek originates from the Creole meaning “to stay with” (Restavek Freedom, 2011). Restavek’s are poor, usually rural children (most often girls) living with and employed by an urban, more economically stable family in return for unpaid domestic labour (Duvivier, 2008). This system was intended to supply education, providing a better life for children who live in poverty: however, it created a system of slavery and trafficking (Restavek Freedom, 2001).
The theology of creation underpinning Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s (EBB) protest against child labour in “The Cry of the Children” (1843) has gone largely unnoticed by scholars. The poem portrays child labour as a horrific sign of what ecotheologian Norman Wirzba calls the modern idolatry of nature, the attempt to reduce the world’s meaning to human uses and desires. When shorn of inherent sanctity, “The Cry” implies, all of nature’s bodies, including children’s bodies, become available for sacrifice for utility and profit. This implication becomes clear when we consider the poem in dialogue with EBB’s A Drama of Exile (1844). Together, the poems indicate that in reducing creation to a means of production, modernity assaults Christ and his redemptive identification with the living earth. Yet the poems also call on readers to renounce the idolatrous bid to master the earth and instead to imagine themselves as co-labourers in creation's redemption through Christ’s body.
The article describes the phenomenon of child labour in the informal urban economy of a region known as the Triple Frontier located between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, where some of the worst forms of child labour with distinctive regional features are present. At the Triple Frontier, tensions between global and local dimensions shape an interconnected and diverse space marked by inequality and asymmetries. For children and adolescents in vulnerable situations, border cities offer an opportunity to establish an income for themselves or their families through economic activities in the urban informal sector. However, the convergence of three national states, along with the sheer length and porousness of borders in the region, also allows the persistence of the worst forms of child labour, including trafficking for sexual or labour exploitation. Even though the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been ratified by almost every country in the world, the extent of their compliance varies greatly. Historically there have been (at least) two types of childhood: that with a guarantee of inclusion in traditional socialisation mechanisms and excluded childhood, where the rights of children are not guaranteed. In the latter case, children will have a different recognition of their rights depending on their socioeconomic background. In the Triple Frontier region, poverty is criminalised, and children from vulnerable backgrounds would be subject to criminal law enforcement to the detriment of the rights established in the Convention. The article focuses on how working children inhabit and appropriate urban space in order to maximise economic opportunity while at the same time minimising considerable risks. The voices of working children are also included, as they are fundamental for understanding child labour as a strategy to deal with social precariousness.
Children’s right to play and leisure has historically and currently been violated by the many demands of adults. This is now evident in the widespread structuring of the time of middle-class children in programmed activities, including sports. In a contribution to this special issue on leisure, citizenship and human rights the paper begins with an overview of how participation in sports became so work-like for many children. This is followed by an examination of the struggle to define such work as child labour. And the paper concludes with a consideration of how it may be possible to transform sport, protecting participants under the framework of children’s and labour rights – nurturing children accomplished in sport without exploiting or abusing them.
BACKGROUND: Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) is considered a human rights violation and is practiced all over the world. It has been used as a basis for seeking asylum in various countries, including in the USA since 1996, and the precedent-setting matter of Kissindja. Clinicians in the USA and elsewhere who perform asylum evaluations may be called upon to evaluate women who seek asylum based on their FGM/C status or risk. In this manuscript, we provide expert-informed best practices to conduct asylum evaluations based specifically on FGM/C. We review evidence-based history taking, physical examination unique to the population of women and girls affected by FGM/C, and consider the evaluation in the context of trauma-informed care. CONCLUSION: Although general clinical skills often suffice to perform asylum evaluations, FGM/C represents a unique niche within the field of gynecological asylum evaluations and requires additional background knowledge and clinical competencies. ETHICAL APPROVAL: As this is a clinical review and does not involve patients or research subjects no ethical approval was sought or was necessary.
Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), an age-old tradition that is still widely practiced around the world, is gaining recognition as an important public health issue in the United States. Increasingly, because of migration, women and girls affected by FGM/C have become members of host communities where the practice is not culturally acceptable.According to recent conservative estimates, more than 513 000 immigrant women and girls living in the United States have undergone or are at risk for FGM/C, a significant increase from the 1990 estimate of 168 000. The arrests of physicians in Michigan in 2017 for performing FGM/C on minors underscores the fact that cutting is happening in the United States.We have identified numerous gaps in our understanding of the magnitude of the problem in the United States and in the availability of scientific data informing a variety of interventions (preventive, clinical, educational, legal). We catalog these major gaps and propose a research agenda that can help public health experts, researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders to establish priorities as we confront FGM/C as an important health issue affecting hundreds of thousands of women and girls in the United States.
Holly G. Atkinson, Deborah Ottenheimer, Ranit Mishori
The presence of physical violence and marginalization at different historical and socio-economic moments in Brazil has led to the normalization and socio-cultural acceptance of acts of physical punishment as a mechanism for controlling, disciplining and educating children.The article aims to analyze the profile of victims of physical violence against children and adolescents in Brazil, in addition to understanding the consequences for psychosocial development and possible long-term outcomes.Integrative review with analysis of data from SINAN (Information System for Notifiable Diseases).The DeCS descriptors "child maltreatment" and "aggression" and "child" were used in the Scielo, BVS, LILACS and CAPES periodicals databases.We included full-text studies published in the last five years in Portuguese.We excluded those that addressed other forms of child violence together.From 2016 to 2021, the following were reported 117,585 cases of violence against children and adolescents in Brazil, 56,961 of them physical violence.The main victims were females aged between 10 and 14, and the mother was the aggressor in many cases.Minority populations, such as the black population, were more susceptible to developing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.Prolonged exposure to physical aggression in the domestic environment resulted in negative effects on the emotional development of the victims.Despite underreporting in the country, more developed areas, but with greater social inequality, such as the Southeast and South, had a higher number of reported cases.These traumatic experiences can lead to problems such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties and aggressive behavior.Keywords: "Child abuse"
Eugênia Martins Gerolomo, Andressa Borges da Silva, Amanda Morelli Araújo et al.
ABSTRACT Objective: to map the recommendations of the coping strategies for violence against children, adolescents and women in the context of social isolation due to Covid-19. Method: a scoping review according to the Joanna Briggs Institute, through a research strategy carried out in the gray literature by the CAPES Portal and in the following databases: SCIELO, LILACS, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Institutional Repository for Information Exchange of the Pan American Health Organization. The analysis of the identified material was carried out by three independent reviewers. The extracted data were analyzed and synthesized in narrative form. Results: of the 526 studies found, 59 were kept for review and their content was summarized in six categories: 1) prevention; 2) identification and intervention; 3) continued care; 4) care for the safety and mental health of the professionals; 5) intersectoriality/interdisciplinarity; and 6) special care for vulnerable populations. Conclusion: the services must guarantee continuous, intersectoral and safe care, especially in the context of mental health, as well as community awareness must be promoted. Health professionals must be sensitive and alert to signs of violence, intervening immediately and connected to the safety network.
Angelina Lettiere-Viana, Nayara Girardi Baraldi, Diene Monique Carlos et al.
Objective: to describe child sexual violence, the harmful effects and the rights of children and adolescents in Brazil.Method: bibliographic review study with searches for online articles available in full.The following descriptors were accessed "child", "infant", "adolescent"; "violence" and "sexual violence".The articles were chosen based on their title, abstract, method and reading in full.With articles in hand, a random selection was applied by reading the chosen studies in full.Results: children and adolescents need greater attention from parents, guardians, schools and the state.The state is responsible for providing security and a dignified life for these people.Final considerations: sexual violence possibly generates trauma, fears and insecurities for the victim for life.It must be discussed with schoolchildren and teachers.The family's commitment as a protector is fundamental to a healthy society.The provision of resources by the state and access to social determinants by the population are important.For all violence.The treatment and punishment of the aggressor while protecting new victims are necessary and provided for by Brazilian laws.
Milene Scapin Duarte, Célia Scapin Duarte, Ana Paula Lopes Lima et al.
