Best Practices in Preventing and Eliminating Child Labor Through Education
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Best Practices in Preventing and Eliminating Child Labor through Education Drawn from Winrock global CIRCLE projects Community-based Innovations for the Reduction of Child Labor through Education 2 0 0 8 “In the context of the CIRCLE project, a best practice is an aspect of a project that has been effective in preventing or reducing child labor and is an inspiration to others.” Winrock International November 2006 Best Practices in Preventing and Eliminating Child Labor through Education Drawn from Winrock Global CIRCLE Projects Community-based Innovations to Reduce Child Labor through Education Funding for CIRCLE is provided by the United States Department of Labor under Cooperative Agreements E-9-K-2-0048 and E-9-K-2-0005. This publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply the endorsement by the United States Government. Best Practices in Preventing and Eliminating Child Labor through Education Drawn from the Global CIRCLE Project Community-based Innovations for the Reduction of Child Labor through Education (CIRCLE ) Project Author Winrock International Writers Nicholas Grisewood – Principal writer Saskia Brand Kadiatou Cissé Abbassi Henry Ruiz Vicki Walker Editor Christina Grisewood Designer Minshall & Minshall Creative, Little Rock, AR Printer Brockinton Company, Inc., Little Rock, AR Copyright © 2008 by Winrock International Empowerment and Civic Engagement Unit 1621 North Kent Street, Suite 1200 Arlington, VA 22209 USA This publication may be reproduced in its entirety for educational and non-commercial use, and excerpts may be reproduced provided the title and publisher are credited. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Child labor through education: drawn from Winrock Global CIRCLE projects: community-based innova- tions to reduce child labor through education. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-57360-070-5 1. Child labor--Prevention. 2. Education. 3. Child welfare. I. Winrock International. HD6231.C457 2008 331.3’1--dc22 2008014470 Funding for this publication was provided by the U.S. Department of Labor under Cooperative Agreements E-9-K-2-0048 and E-9-K-2-0005. This publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply the endorsement by the United States Government. Winrock International’s CIRCLE I and II projects (Community-based Innovations for the Reduction of Child Labor through Education) aim to prevent or reduce exploitive child labor through education by identifying, promoting, and supporting innovative, locally developed, and community-based projects. CIRCLE is funded by the United States Department of Labor/Bureau of International Labor Affairs/ Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (USDOL/ILAB/OCFT) Child Labor Education Initiative. This publication is a distillation of best practices drawn from the more than 100 projects funded through CIRCLE I and II aimed to inform and inspire individuals and organizations working to end the labor exploitation of children, to promote educational opportunities for all children, and to support their personal and social development through a fulfilled, safe, and happy childhood. Definition of child labor This document is concerned with exploitive and worst forms of child labor. All further references to child labor imply the following definition. Child labor refers to children who are engaged in an economic activity and who are below the minimum legal age of employment in a given country. Depending on the country, young people aged 12-15 and over may be employed in certain “light work” if it is not hazardous or harmful to their health and does not affect their attendance and per- formance at school. Article 3 of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182 defines the worst forms of child labor as: a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs; d) work which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children. Sources for further definitions are International Labor Organization (ILO), www.ilo.org; The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), www.unicef.org/crc/; ILO Convention No. 138 concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (1973); ILO Convention No. 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (1999), ILO, The end of child labor: within reach, Global Report, June 2006. Table of contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Preface ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ 3 Acronyms ............................................................................................................................................ 4 User’s Guide ............................................................................................................................... 5 Background ............................................................................................................................... 7 Background 1: About Winrock International ............................................................................... 7 Background 2: Causes and Consequences of Child Labor ............................................................ 10 Background 3: Winrock CIRCLE project .................................................................................... 17 Background 4: CIRCLE as a Model of Best Practice .................................................................... 20 Project Design Guidelines ......................................................................................................... 26 Thematic Approaches to Preventing and Eliminating Child Labor Chapter 1 Awareness-raising ................................................................................................ 45 Chapter 2 Advocacy ............................................................................................................... 66 Chapter 3 Education .................................................................................................. 82 Chapter 4 Vocational Education and Skills Training ........................................................... 115 Chapter 5 Peer Education ...................................................................................................... 144 Chapter 6 Child Labor Monitoring ............................................................................... 156 Chapter 7 Data Collection ...................................................................................................... 179 Annexes Annex I List of CIRCLE Sub-contract NGO Partners ......................................................... 191 Annex II Regional Selection Committee (RSC) Members ................................................. 195 Annex III Best Practices Reviewers and Contributors ................................................. 196 Foreword from the President and CEO of Winrock International April 2008 The Community-based Innovations to Reduce Child Labor through Education (CIRCLE) project is a development in- novation that has prevented or removed more than 24,000 children from exploitive child labor, including its worst forms. Community participation has been key to this success. For over five years, it has been Winrock’s privilege to lead this project, which has led to this Best Practices document. This document is the result of the dedication and hard work of our partner non-governmental organizations and communities, volunteer and expert advisors, and the Winrock staff. It aims to inspire and provide methodologies, tools, and examples to combat child labor and ensure children are in school and have a chance to grow up without exploitation. This document was compiled and analyzed through a peer review process that involved over 200 participants, a process that raised awareness about CIRCLE and child labor issues associated with development and education. It is a reflection of the extraordinary collaboration of experts from many institutions, the private sector, governments, and communities all over the world. Please see our list of acknowledgements in the annex. We hope that as you read about the experience of Winrock and CIRCLE you will come away with insights and techniques for reducing exploitive child labor and be inspired to intensify your own efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals as well as the ILO-IPEC goal of “no child labor by 2016.” The Winrock home office and regional staff coordinated the NGOs that