Peru’s movement of working children offers a visionary model for collaborative, caring, and egalitarian communities where children are valued as full participants in economic, social, and political life. Español
As the UN considers its position on child labour, 59 experts lay out the case against a universal minimum age. Blanket bans cannot prevent exploitation, only more nuanced approaches do that. Español
The moral panic over child trafficking detracts from important questions about children and childhood, the state, and immigration. We worry about child trafficking, but what exactly is it?
Recently introduced anti-trafficking regulations in South Africa are doing more harm than good. This is because they have been driven by panic and international pressure, not evidence.
Not all child mobility is ‘trafficking’ and some forms of child mobility might not be detrimental to children’s interests and welfare.
Young migrants live dynamic lives, yet dominant conceptions only allow them two identities: ‘victim of child trafficking’ or ‘illegal migrant’. These identities are forced and based on fake morals.
Trafficking received its current definition only fifteen years ago. Since that time, the policies pursued in its name have done incalculable damage to the children they purport to protect.
Many children improve their current and future lives through work. Programmes to protect working children should operate within the children’s interests, not ban them from their employment. Español
All the major critiques of ‘child-saving’ fall short of the mark. We must reconceptualise our solidarity with the poor if we really want to help protect the world’s children.
Child protection services in war zones are inadequate because they do not challenge the sources of violence. To fully protect children organisations must become political.
Young people’s mobility must be understood within processes of change. Migration provides opportunities to achieve status, an under-recognised yet important aspect of young persons’ lives.
‘Saving orphans’ has become an industry that irrevocably harms children and undermines the development of child welfare systems. We must replace the drive to rescue with the desire to protect.
