Sonali, has come back home (Sandeshkali bloc, West Bengal) after two years. She is 12 years old and has spent the last two years as a domestic worker in Babughat, Kolkatta. Cleaning a three floor house and cooking for a five member household. Her eyes brim with tears as she shows her hand that was burnt by her employer, who poured hot dal on it as there was a delay in cooking dinner one day. She fled with the help of a considerate neighbour.

(10 October, 2007) The Child Labour Prevention Act which was amended on 10th of October 2006 banned children under 14 working as domestic servants and in dhabas, restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality sectors, making employing the above groups a punishable offence.

One year on, how far has the act been implemented by the national and state governments? The Central government had asked state governments to develop action plans to rescue and rehabilitate children who are working as child labourers. So far only three State governments have published these plans - Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamilnadu, and even today 74% of child domestic workers are under the age of 16.

Government of India estimates (Census 2001) that over 12 million children aged between 5 and 14 continue to work in various occupations including many hazardous occupations. This includes about 1,85,595 children who are estimated to  be engaged in domestic work and roadside eateries. NGO estimates are very different, and place the numbers of children employed in these sectors (domestic work and roadside eateries) for the country as up to 20 million (with 1 million children estimated to be working in these sectors in Delhi alone.)

 In response to a  Rajya Sabha question it was stated that as

per the information received from the state governments, 2,229 violations of the recent notification banning employment of children under 14 as domestic help and in the hospitality sector were detected. 38,818 inspections were carried out by some state governments from whom reports were received and 211 prosecutions have been filed. The above figure's clearly shows that there is a lot to be done.

Save the Children's work in the states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra clearly shows that these children are routinely subjected to many different forms of abuse from unsafe working conditions and lack of food to being beaten, they are deliberately burnt or sexually abused. Some of the key findings of our study on Child Domestic work have been:  

• 99% of child domestic workers in Delhi and 84% in Kolkata are girls.
• Most child domestic workers are young girls who come from poor families and are forced to work for up to 15 hours a day with no breaks and little or no pay.
• 68% of the children surveyed had faced physical abuse and 46.6% of the children had
  faced severe abuse that had led to injuries
• 32.2% have had their private parts touched by the abuser, 20% had been forced to have sexual intercourse
• 50% of children do not get any leave in a year, 37% never see their families
• 32% of families have no idea where their daughters are working, 27% admitted they know they were getting beaten and harassed.

• 78% of workers receive less than Rs. 500 per month.
• In Delhi, 49% earn 1000- 1500 in a month. 16.4% get less than that.
• 42.7% do not know or have not been given their present address.
• 35% are brought to Delhi by relatives, 2% through agents and 22% through known agents. 

"Childhood only happens once. For some it doesn't happen at all." said, Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the Children, Bal Raksha Bharat. "To ensure that each child is guaranteed his/her childhood the government and the NGOs need to work towards implementing the CLPRA in spirit and form. Save the Children is working along with different Ministries at the national level and state governments in West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra to ensure its implementation."   

Save the Children Bal Raksha, Bharat (India) is calling for:

• Better enforcement of the act ensuring that the children are rescued from banned occupations and the offenders are prosecuted.
• All state governments asked to formulate state plans of action to enforce CLPRA and implementation of the same.
• In line with UNCRC the age limit of the child be raised from 14 to 18. This would ensure that huge number of children aged between 14 and 18 working in hazardous occupations are rescued and rehabilitated.
• We need to be recognise that girls who work as Child Domestic Workers are at a great risk of being subjected to abuse.
• Undertake concerted campaigns to raise public awareness and strictly enforce penalties on employers. 
• Undertake study and close scrutiny of the placement agencies, especially those working in source and destination districts to combat child trafficking into forced child labour.
• Effective plans from the government to rehabilitate former child workers and help them re-enter schools and benefit from India's various poverty alleviation programmes, especially in the areas they come from (source areas).

 

For more information, please contact Anuradha C. Maharishi, Media and Communications Manager, Save the Children Bal Raksha, Bharat (India) on + 91 9811626122 or a.maharishi@savethechildren.in

 

Spokesperson:

1. Shireen Miller, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Delhi,  - 9811552920
2. Subash Chandra Ray, Programme Coordinator -  09440837222
3. Laxmi Narayan Nanda, Acting Programme Manager, South Zone - 09440062021
4. Manabendra Nath Ray, Programme Manager, West Bengal  - 09830046205

 

Notes to the Editor

• From 10 October 2006, the employment of children under 14 as domestic servants and in dhabas, restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality sectors has been banned. Anyone found violating the ban must be penalized with a punishment ranging from a jail term of three months to two years and/or a fine of Rs 10,000 to 20,000.  The GOI issued two notification to amend the list of occupations and processes under CLPRA that are banned for children under 14 years of age
• The key legislation dealing with juvenile justice administration (The Juvenile Justice (care and protection) Act 2000) defines child as a person less than 18 years of age. This is in line with International standards such as the UN Child Rights Convention (ratified by the Government of India) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention 138. 
• The 2006 amendment to the CLPRA bans child labour in domestic help and other hospitality sectors for children under14 years. Save the Children's research on Child domestic work shows that 74% of children in domestic work are between the ages of 12 to 16. This leaves a crucial gap in bringing huge number of working children (aged between 14 and 18) under the protection of this Act.
• Save the Children Bal Raksha, Bharat (India) is an leading international child rights agency and a member of International Save the Children Alliance. Save the Children fights for children's rights and delivers immediate and lasting improvements to children's lives worldwide.
• Save the Children is the world's largest independent organisation for children, making a difference to children's lives in over 120 countries. From emergency relief to long-term development, Save the Children helps children to achieve a happy, healthy and secure childhood. Save the Children listens to children, involves children and ensures their views are taken into account. Save the Children secures and protects children's rights - to food, shelter, health care, education and freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation.
• In India, we have been working for over three decades, addressing children's issues through child centered, rights based approach, and facilitating the call for recognizing children as citizens and for realizing their rights We work in the following sectors  Education, Child
  Protection, Health and HIV/AIDS.
• Please visit our website www.savethechildren.in