Child Labor in Ethiopia with Special Focus on Child Prostitution
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Child Labor in Ethiopia with special focus on Child Prostitution This study was jointly carried with Addis Ababa City Administration Social and NGO Affairs Office- SNGOA, Save the Children Denmark (SCD) and African Network for the Prevention of and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect-Ethiopia Chapter (ANPPCAN) December 2003, Addis Ababa TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface i Abbreviations and Acronyms ii Definition of local terms iv Executive Summary 1 Chapter One: Introduction 3 1.1 Background of the study 3 1.2 Objectives of the study 8 1.3 Limitations of the study 8 Chapter Two: Literature Review 9 2.1 Child labor 9 2.2 Child prostitution 12 Chapter Three: Methodology 15 3.1 Design of the survey 15 3.2 Sample size 15 3.3 The study site 15 3.4 Design of questionnaires 16 Chapter Four: Findings of the study 17 4.1 Child labor 17 4.2 Child prostitution 25 Chapter Five: Discussion and recommendations 38 5.1 Child labor 38 5.2 Recommendations 42 PREFACE Save the Children Denmark (SCD) is an international non governmental organization committed to working for the realization of children's rights. SCD is involved –among other issues – in fighting the worst forms of child labor globally giving priority to children who because of their age, type of work or other conditions are particularly vulnerable. SCD’s stand on child labor is informed by the Save the Children Alliance position paper on child work from 1997 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 32 that declares: "State parties recognize the rights of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development." Save the Children Denmark has interest in being involved in combating the worst forms of child labor in collaboration with other concerned organizations working in Ethiopia, but before going to implement programmes it is necessary to have an understanding of the phenomenon. As part of a Knowledge Building Process, SCD and African Network for the Prevention of and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) have therefore decided to undertake a study in order to get clearer picture on the prevalence and magnitude of one of the worst forms of child labor -child prostitution- in Addis Ababa. It is our intention that this research will help SCD partners to design strategies to address the problems faced by sexually exploited children. This investigation, therefore, highlights child prostitution, its causes, effects and possible solutions to reduce and prevent it. The analysis has also identified existing and potential actors in the field and appraise strategies employed. SCD and ANPPCAN invited in the knowledge building process, the Addis Ababa City Administration Social and NGO Affairs Office – SNGOA, which is the government authority with a mandate for this area in order to make the government part of the process from the beginning and gain support during implementation, including law revision. Save the Children Denmark would like to thank the research team, organizations and individuals who in one way or another contributed to this study. Last but not least our gratitude goes also to those children who took part in the study. Sergio Daniel Kristensen Country Representative Save the Children Denmark i ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ANPPCAN - African Network for the Prevention of and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect ARI - Acute Respiratory Infection APIK - Association for the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge BOLSA - Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs CDW - Community Development Worker CETU - Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Union CHA - Community Health Agent CHADET - Children Aid Ethiopia CHW - Community Health Worker CSA - Central Statistics Authority DA - Development Agent FC - Female Circumcision FGC - Female Genital Cutting FGD - Focus Group Discussion FSCE - Forum on Street Children GRIP - Godanaw Rehabilitation Integration Project (GRIP) HHD - Household HTP - Harmful Traditional Practice ILO - International Labor Office IPEC - International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor ii MOH - Ministry of Health NCTPE - National Committee on Traditional Practices of Ethiopia NGO - Non Government Organization NS - Not Stated OR - Operation Research PHC - Primary Health Care PLA - Participatory Learning and Action SNNPR - Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region SCD - Save the Children Denmark TB - Tuberculosis TBA - Traditional Birth Attendant TGE - Transitional Government of Ethiopia TTC - Teachers Training College TV - Television UN - United Nations UNDP - United Nations Development Program UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund WB - World Bank WHO - World Health Organization iii DEFINITION OF LOCAL TERMS Injera - Local food used as bread Kollo - Roasted Barely Tej - Local drink brewed from honey Tella - Local beer Araki - Home brewed liquor which is highly alcoholic Chat - Green leaf used to stimulate the body Selvage - Used cloths Kebele - Urban Dwellers Association iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Child labor, as exemplified by the unanimous commitment to ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, is an issue of international concern. In developing countries like Ethiopia where the worst forms of child labor such as child prostitution are widely observed this concern is more relevant. However, there is limited information on the situation of children involved in child labor and child prostitution, both in rural or urban areas. The Addis Ababa Administration Social and NGO Affairs Office, Save the Children Denmark and ANPPCAN have therefore decided to undertake a study in order to get a clearer picture on the root causes and effects of child labor and child prostitution in Addis Ababa. This research has been conducted in four kebeles of Addis Ababa using qualitative and quantitative methods. The investigation highlighted child labor in general and child prostitution in particular. The report has five sections: introduction, review of related literature, methodology, findings and discussions and recommendations for interventions. The analysis revealed that the major labor activities in which children are engaged in Addis Ababa include shoe shining, selling lottery tickets, selling food/drinks/kollo, assisting taxi drivers (woyala) and prostitution. The major causes which push children to involve in child labor include poverty, death of one or both parents, the need to become economically independent, and violence within the home environment. Child labor affects the child’s social, physiological, intellectual and emotional developments. In addition, child labor exposes the child in to various health problems. However, most of the study subjects believe that children from poor families should work, but under conditions which do not affect their health conditions. To reduce and prevent child labor, alleviation measures such as: poverty reduction, awareness creation, family support, fulfilling the basic needs of children, and family planning are considered as essential critical. Most of the child prostitutes in the study came from regions to look for job, due to conflicts at home, early marriage and divorce. Poverty, death of one or both parents, child trafficking, Child Labor in Ethiopia 1 high repetition rates and drop out from school and lack of awareness about the consequence of being engaged in prostitution are key factors that push young girls to be involved in commercial sex work. The major problems that have been faced by children engaged in prostitution include among others: rape, beating, stigmatization, frustration, low self-esteem, unwanted pregnancy and health problems. As an attempt to prevent and reduce child prostitution, the following is suggested: • Creating job opportunities • Provision of vocational skills training • Emotional support and adequate care for girls by parents and the community • Income generating project helping poverty reduction at the family level • Family planning, since a large family size is one of the root causes for the disintegration of the family • Awareness/education for children, users, parents and advocacy for decision makers • Sensitization and training of media professionals, school teachers, local authorities, parents and CBOs concerning child rights, effects of child prostitution and child labor. • Training of law enforcers (judges, police, prosecutors, etc) to handle children’s cases without bias. • Training of teachers and community members as para-counselors. • Fighting social stigmatization of children engaged in child prostitution. • Networking among NGOs, Government organizations and stakeholders. Child Labor in Ethiopia 2 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Child labor is a major international problem stemming mainly from socio economic roots. There is international consensus that the elimination of child labor is essential for the wellbeing of society. This belief has received universal recognition as revealed by the unanimous approval of the 175 member states of the International Labor Organization (ILO) of Convention 182. According to the ILO Convention 182 (IPECL, 1994), the worst forms of child labor include: all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, as well as forced or compulsory labor, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;