violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

‘Violence is when children are made to work like animals’.Urban children, Latin America, 2005 X6tional harm and carrying illegal firearms alsorose significantly during this period (see alsothe chapter on violence against children in thecommunity). 106Factors contributingto violenceThe ILO has developed a conceptual frameworkfor analysing violence at work among thegeneral worker population, viewing it as functionof four interrelated factors:• characteristics of the victims• characteristics of the perpetrators• factors in the working environment• risks related to the environmentexternal to the place of work. 107Though not developed with child workers inmind, this framework is helpful in capturinga number of interactive features, includingindividual and social risk factors, the contextin which certain types of work are performed,and individual and social outcomes, and workplacecosts.Characteristics of workersand perpetratorsChildren are by definition more vulnerable toviolence than adult workers due to their generallysmall size, developmental immaturity,and state of dependence. The distance of theemployer in terms of space, social and ethnicaffiliation from the child’s background affectswhether he or she feels responsibility for theyoung worker’s well-being. In addition, girlsare more vulnerable to sexual violence 108 – andchildren with disabilities are at elevated riskof violence. Children are also less likely thanadults to physically resist violence or makecomplaints, making them easy targets. Youngworkers, whether they have attained the legalworking age or not, are usually at the bottomof the workplace hierarchy.Disability may also play a part in violenceagainst working children. In many parts of theworld, for example, there are frequent reports ofchildren with visible disabilities (from congenitaldisfigurements to open wounds) being sentout to earn a living as beggars, often sufferingphysical violence if they do not earn enoughduring their ‘working day’. Such practices arenot only painful, exploitative and humiliatingfor the children, but frequently contribute toworsening their disabilities and underminingtheir health. 109The power relationship of employer overworker exacerbates risk; this power is absolutesince the job is in the boss’s hands. Availableinformation on recorded cases of workplaceviolence against children implies that mostconsists of violence inflicted by employers,since the majority of children work informallyfor ‘employers’, a term that includes anyonewho has a controlling relationship over a workingchild. Perpetrators also include foremen,co-workers, customers, police, and criminalgangs. Vulnerability is enhanced where theworking situation is isolated or illegal; childrenin the sex trade often fall under the controlof pimps or brothel owners.Traditional systems of apprenticeship – in theCaribbean, for example 110 – can also be the251Violence against children in places of work