Child slavery

Child slavery

Child slavery is the slavery of children.

Contents

History

In the past, many children have been sold into slavery in order for their family to repay debts or for crimes. Sometimes this is also to give the children a better life than what they had with their family.

In most institutions of slavery throughout the world, the children of slaves became the property of the master. This was the case with, for example, thralls and American slaves. In other cases, children were enslaved as if they were adults. Usually the status of the mother determined if the child was a slave, but some local laws varied the decision to the father. In many cultures, slaves could earn their freedom through hard work and buying their own freedom. The infamous Children's Crusade is believed to have led to the enslavement of many young pilgrimsees.

Modern Day

The abolition of slavery in much of the world has greatly reduced child slavery, the phenomenon lives on, especially in Third World countries. According to the Anti-Slavery Society, "Although there is no longer any state which legally recognizes, or which will enforce, a claim by a person to a right of property over another, the abolition of slavery does not mean that it ceased to exist. There are millions of people throughout the world — mainly children — in conditions of virtual slavery, as well as in various forms of servitude which are in many respects similar to slavery."[1] It further notes that slavery, particularly child slavery, was on the rise in 2003. It points out that there are countless others in other forms of servitude (such as peonage, bonded labor and servile concubinage) which are not slavery in the narrow legal sense. Critics claim they are stretching the definition and practice of slavery beyond its original meaning, and are actually referring to forms of unfree labour other than slavery[citation needed].

Trafficking of Children

Trafficking of children includes recruiting, harbouring, obtaining, and transporting children by use of force or fraud for the purpose of subjecting them to involuntary acts, such as commercial sexual exploitation (including prostitution) or involuntary labour, i.e., enslavement. Some see human trafficking as the modern form of slavery. Human trafficking is the trade of human beings and their use by criminals to make money. The majority of trafficking victims are adults, predominantly women forced into prostitution (although men are trafficked also), but children make up a significant number of the victims forced into prostitution.

In Ukraine, a survey conducted by the non-governmental organization (NGO) “La Strada-Ukraine” in 2001-2003, based on a sample of 106 women being trafficked out of Ukraine found that 3% were under 18, and the US State Department reported in 2004 that incidents of minors being trafficked was increasing. In Thailand, NGOs have estimated that up to a third of prostitutes are children under 18, many trafficked from outside Thailand.[2]

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography estimates that about one million children in Asia alone are victims of the sex trade.[3]

Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Save the Children, World Vision and the British Red Cross have called for an immediate halt to adoptions of Haitian children not approved before the earthquake, warning that child traffickers could exploit the lack of regulation. An Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesman said that child enslavement and trafficking was "an existing problem and could easily emerge as a serious issue over the coming weeks and months". [4]

See also

Notes

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Slavery — Slave redirects here. For other uses, see Slave (disambiguation). Part of a series on …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery in India — The history of slavery in India is complicated by the presence of factors which relate to the definition, ideological and religious perceptions, difficulties in obtaining and interpreting written sources, and perceptions of political impact of… …   Wikipedia

  • Child abduction — Family law Entering into marriag …   Wikipedia

  • Child labour — The first general laws against child labour, the Factory Acts, were passed in Britain in the first half of the 19th century. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work and the work day of youth under the age of 18 was limited to twelve… …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery in the United States — began soon after English colonists first settled Virginia in 1607 and lasted until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865. Before the widespread establishment of chattel slavery, much labor was organized …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery in Britain and Ireland — dated back to the times of Roman occupation. It was finally abolished by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, with some exceptions for part of the British Empire. The prohibition on slavery and servitude is codified under Article 4 of the European… …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery in Angola — existed since early times. Several peoples and tribes from current day Angola, like the Imbangala and the Mbundu, were active slave traders for centuries (see African slave trade). Starting in the 16th century, Kingdom of Portugal s explorers… …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery at common law — in former colonies of the British Empire, developed slowly over centuries, characterised by inconsistent decisions and varying rationales for the treatment of slavery, the slave trade, and the rights of slaves and slave owners. Until 1807 there… …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery in Romania — Slavery (Romanian: robie ) existed on the territory of present day Romania since before the founding of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in 13th ndash;14th century, and it was abolished in stages during the 1840s and 1850s. Most of… …   Wikipedia

  • Slavery (Ottoman Empire) — Slavery was an important part of Ottoman society. [ [http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/ fisher/hst373/readings/inalcik6.html Supply of Slaves] ] As late as 1908, women slaves were still sold in the Ottoman Empire. [… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”