Childhood exposure to birth registration laws and old-age mortality

This paper studies the effects of the enactment of birth registration laws, as the official universal and uniform method of recording births, across US states in the first decades of the 20th century on old-age longevity for children affected by these laws. We show that establishing birth registration laws has long-term benefits for old-age health. The benefits are primarily driven by states with an effective child labor policy, suggesting that registering births helps the enforcement of child labor laws which in turn operate as the mechanism channel to improve old-age longevity. A treatment-on-treated calculation suggests an increase of 0.6 years of longevity from not working during childhood due to the birth registration law.

Child Labor Trafficking Essentials for Forensic Nurses

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery and is a significant pediatric healthcare problem in the United States. The term "human trafficking" encompasses both sex and labor trafficking. Sex trafficking, especially child sex trafficking, has received significant lay and professional attention. However, few efforts have focused on learning more about youth experiencing labor trafficking in the United States. Pediatric healthcare providers, including forensic nurses, are likely to encounter victims of child labor trafficking in their practice. A basic understanding of child labor trafficking will assist forensic nurses in timely identification of and appropriate intervention for victims. In this article child labor trafficking is discussed in terms of definition, epidemiology, history, risk factors, consequences, identification, and implications for practice.

Children at Work, Child Labor and Modern Slavery in India: An Overview

There is a large child work force in India reported to be about 40 million. Child labor is being regarded as a form of modern slavery, as children are forced to work or have no choice to refuse work. Children are employed in a variety of occupations, many of which are hazardous. Exposure to machinery, pesticides, dust in agricultural work and fumes, chemicals, acids, cotton and wool fiber in other forms of work is detrimental to health. A large number are held in bonded servitude. In urban areas, children are employed as domestic helpers and engaged in eateries and auto-repair work. Trafficking and trading of children for work and sexual slavery are also major concerns. Poverty and illiteracy are root causes of child labor, but iniquitous societal attitudes are responsible for abuse and exploitation. Working children are deprived of proper health care and education, and lose their childhood and dignity. Several legal measures exist to prevent child labor and protect them from harm, but are thwarted by the distressing socioeconomic conditions. Although child labor would be difficult to abolish, exploitation can be prevented with concerted efforts of the government agencies, professional bodies and the civil society.

[Child labour and occupational health in Mexico: a challenge for medicine]

Occupational Health is a transdisciplinary activity relatively less known and under-developed in Mexico. Its objective is the well-being of workers: physical, mental and social spheres. Hygiene, safety, ergonomics, psychology, medicine, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, sociology, anthropology, law and economics, are some examples of the disciplines involved in the field of Occupational Health. Child labour is all productive activity carried out by persons under 18 years old, with or without compensation, which is harmful to their physical, mental and social development. In Mexico more than 2.5 million children and adolescents face this situation. Most of them work in the informal sector where hazardous work environment may exist and occupational health activities or at least, occupational medicine services are missing. Promoting the work of children is not a moral act but poverty and inequity that force them to work in some countries is happening every day. Without better alternatives, eradication of child labour in the short or medium term does not seem a realistic goal. This paper highlights the need for a new way of thinking about child labour: child work that is safe. Social and professional awareness about the reality of child labour and occupational health potential could represent the opportunity to at least make child labour into safe child work. Physicians may have a privileged position to lead that transformation, if provided with the right training and tools.

Child Labor in Global Tobacco Production: A Human Rights Approach to an Enduring Dilemma

Tobacco production is a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Unfortunately, the cultivation of tobacco engages the labor of children throughout the world in extremely dangerous environments, which has both immediate and long-term consequences for children and society. This paper explores the human rights concerns associated with child labor in tobacco production by highlighting three countries-the United States, Kazakhstan, and Malawi-and examines the impact that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, and the ILO's Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention have on child labor practices in tobacco production. It also proposes general actions to address the human rights concerns related to child labor practices in tobacco production, as well as specific actions for selected countries. A human rights-based approach to reducing child labor in agriculture could create meaningful changes that improve lives and opportunities for health, education, and economic stability among children and families across the globe.