Research Paper Example: Global Crisis of Child Labor

My Social Justice Project topic is the global crisis of child labor. Children all throughout the world are being forced to labor in dangerous conditions for extended periods of time for little money. These children are suffering because they are being placed in precarious environments that endanger their lives. Children's employment during their adolescent years is detrimental to their mental and physical development. The developmental hazards and trauma that child labor may cause can have a long-term influence on a child's growth and development. This is an issue that is important to me because I am appalled that children are routinely deprived of their childhood, education, and mistreated in various sorts of labor. I want to raise awareness about what child labor is, why it happens, and where it occurs throughout the world. Children should never have to endure the misery that labor may bring; the continuation of labor does not move the world closer to a place of fairness and justice. 

Businesses all around the globe are constructing factories in impoverished countries so that they may employ a large number of children while only paying them a small amount of money. After these factories have finished producing the products, the items are delivered all over the world to consumers, all oblivious to the pain and suffering that went into making the product. Large organizations gain from employing children who do work without having to pay them much money. They are targeting high-poverty areas across the world and targeting children from low-income households because they realize they need all the money they can obtain to live. This speaks to poverty and insufficient wages as the root causes of child labor across the world. Rich people increase the money in their own pocket by paying their workers insufficient wages. If everyone in the world received a fair salary, regardless of where they lived, parents would not need their children to work to help support the family.

It is critical that we recognize the kind of employment that children have in order to better understand why they are hazardous to minors, according to the Human Rights Watch, “children are working in gold mines in the Philippines and Tanzania, weaving carpets in Afghanistan, and toiling in tobacco fields in the United States and agricultural settlements in the West Bank.”  All of these jobs might cause physical damage children atttributle to the fact that they are immature and not completely devlopded mentally to be able to comprehend how to safely perform certain tasks. If these children were in school instead of working, they may be able to develop and mature enough so that in the future they can comprehend how to do their occupations not only correctly, but also safely. This is seen in countries where the majority of its population are not poor, where no children are subjected to child labor, and where children may attend school full-time. Countries considered "rich" produce workers that have acquired a decent education and are capable of doing more demanding occupations than workers raised in poor countries who received barely any education.

Although it is difficult to hear, I believe it is important to touch on the fact that children who work as child laborers wish they were able to have a “normal” childhood, “Richard , a 13-year old working in a Tanzanian gold mine, says: “I don’t like mining at all. I’d like to go to school full time”.”  Working as a c hild brings a greater risk than reward, Human Rights Watch reported “Millions of children risk pain, sickness, injury, and even death to produce goods and services for the global economy.”  Every day, these children put their lives in danger in order to benefit manufacturers and customers who gain from the purchase of low-cost goods. Instead of exploiting children who do not have a voice, companies employing children to work should be held accountable for their actions. Children are “climbing into unstable mine shafts and carrying heavy bags of ore… exposed to pesticides, work with sharp tools or heavy machinery, and long hours spent laboring in extreme heat,”  all in order to produce low-cost items or foods, which will ultimately result in even more money in the hands of shady corporations. 

Child labor is a broken relationship between the poor and the rich. Privileged countries benefit from having poor countries as their workers, meaning the hard work of a poor country helps to grow the economy of a rich country. As a society we need to educate ourselves on the companies responsible for the continuation of child labor and the on-going exploitation of children in our world every day.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the nature of work for children has changed dramatically. Previously, child labor was reasonably safe for children when they assisted their parents around the house or farm. Although, due to the rise of modern capitalism and industrialization, companies are now maximizing their profit by exploiting children. Catholic Social Teaching and its themes of social justice stand against the exploitation of innocent children and advocate for their protection. The Catholic church aims for “building a just society and living lives of holiness amidst the challenges of modern society.”  The themes of Catholic Social Teaching that speak most to the issue of child labor are Life and Dignity of the Human Person, Rights and Responsibilities, Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, and The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers. By incorporating the themes of life and faith into my social justice topic, I will be able to research what the Catholic church believes about child labor and examine how exactly it is an injustice in our society. 

The theme of Life and Dignity of the Human Person means that each and every human life is sacred and that no one ever deserves to have their dignity violated. Children who fall victim to child labor are not having their dignity protected because they are being manipluated into doing dangerous jobs and are being exposed to mature situations. Laborem Exercens states "in work, whereby matter gains in nobility, man himself should not experience a lowering of his own dignity” , as Catholics we believe that every person deserves to live a life of equality and should not be treated differently because of where they live or their financial status. 

The theme of Option for the Poor and Vulnerable means that as a society it is our mission to care for the less fortunate and be a voice for those who do not have one. The book of Zechariah in the Bible states “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor'' (Zc 7:10 NIV), yet large corporations who employ poor children as workers are not living up to this standard of not suppressing the less fortunate. Children all over the world are seen as God's innocent gifts and his pure vision, they are his own children. Businesses all around the globe should not be developing factories in impoverished countries and employing children while only paying them little wages. Treating children like they are adults and having them working in unsafe conditions is not the vision God had for his children. Instead of being required to perform tasks alone, children need guidance, support, and protection from trusting adults. The adolescent years are the times where children need the opportunity to learn and develop, being overworked and underpaid is not the childhood that we should want for God's children. 

The theme of Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers advocates for a respectful work environment and decent wages for all. As a society, if we want our economy to flourish we need to pay our workers adequate wages. This would also benefit consumers because they would have enough money to buy products and not just enough money to make ends meet. It is unjust to deprive workers of proper wages because poor families need even the smallest amount of money to be able to provide for their family. The book of Duetoronomy shares with us that companies should be eager to pay their workers adequately and in a timely manner in order to thank them for all of their hard work, “On each day you shall pay the servant’s wages before the sun goes down, since the servant is poor and is counting on them.” (Dt 24:15) The Bible tells us that it is only right to be fair and give those who work hard the money they deserve. Poor children have feelings, and we need to validate and support them, “Poverty is not just about numbers. It is about parents who cannot feed their children in Latin America or who are unable to bring sick or disabled children to a doctor in the United States.”  As Catholics living in the United States we need to take the time to reflect on how fortunate we are and compare our lives to those who are truly struggling around the world. 

Justice is defined as “fairness in the way people are dealt with.”  Having children placed in harsh working conditions for little pay definitely does not fit the notion of “fair”. Exploiting children as child laborers is benefitting no one but large corporations who clearly do not care about the dignity of a child’s life. From the words of Pope Francis, "If we want to stamp out the scourge of child labor, we must work together to eradicate poverty (and) to correct the distortions in the current economic system.”  Catholics are called to stand up for the poor, vulnerable, and the oppressed. It is our responsibility to educate the world about the millions of children who are deprived of their childhoods every day as a result of child labor.