Understanding trends in the worst forms of child labour and the state's legal responses: a descriptive analysis

• Author: Mashele Rapatsa
• Position: School of Law, University of Limpopo, South Africa
• Pages: 186-199

Understanding trends in the worst forms of child labour

and the state’s legal responses: a descriptive analysis

Lecturer Mashele RAPATSA

1

Abstract

This article discusses trends in the worst forms of child labour. It also examines

state’s legal respon ses designed to eradicate child economic exploitation. This is premised

on the Constitution transformative ideal of accelera ting social transformation and human

development. The exploitative nature of the worst forms of child labour is amongst the most

disconcerting aspects in social, educational and economic realities. Most repugnant forms

include children being subjected to Commercial Sexual Exploitation, Children being Used

to Commit Illicit Activities, bondage labour and other hazardous economic activities. Such

activities often result in unalterab le physical and psychological harm or even worse,

threaten children’s lives. Thus, it is a human rights issue, which infringes children’s core

rights such righ t to dignity, life, social security and fr eedom. Widespread anecdotal

evidence suggests that no country in the world is immune from this scourge, and so is South

Africa. Hence, the need to highlight the nature and extent of prevalence, and the efficacy of

the rights-based legal instruments adopted against ch ild economic exploitation. It is

asserted that factors that proliferates child economic exploitation manifests in the form of

primary factors (those with direct impact such as social deprivation s, e.g. poverty) and

secondary factors (those that relate with action or inaction of governments, e.g. corruption,

lack of state capacity). It is argued that legal instruments will be of no effect lest these

direct and indirect causes are not interrupted. Widespread awareness campaigns also

remain indispensable in order to conscientise society regarding the urg ency of the problem.

Keywords: child exploitation, child well-being, children’s rights, transformation,

development.

JEL Classification: K10, K31

1. Introduction

The worst forms of child labour (WFCL) is amongst society’s major

human development inhibitors. It forms part and parcel of disconcerting socio-

economic challenges facing the entire global community. The central purpose of

this article is to present a selected South African experience with regard to this

problem. The problem is noted to be amongst the factors hindering the country’s

welfare and development of children.

2

A South African experience with regard to

1

Mashele Rapatsa - School of Law, University of Limpopo, South Africa. LLB (UL) LLM

(UCT), (PhD candidate University of Groningen, Netherlands), mashele.rapatsa@ul.ac.za.

2

Dawie Bosch et al, White Paper (draft) on a National Child Labour Action Programme, (2003)

p. 2.