Girl child labour in agriculture, domestic work and sexual exploitation: a comparative analysis, cases of Ghana, Ecuador, Philippines (vol. 2)

This study is a comparative analysis of gender sensitive assessments undertaken in the Ghana, Ecuador and the Philippines focusing on agriculture, domestic labour and prostitution. It analyses underlying factors of gender disparities in child labour and the consequences of those differences. The aim of the study is to inform policy and contribute to a fuller picture of child labour in general, and girl child labour in particular.Main findings and recommendations include:distinct situations of child labour in agriculture were presented in each assessment. Child labourers from Ghana migrate and work mainly on plantations; the Philippines mainly work on small neighbouring farms or family farms, those from Ecuador primarily on lands belonging to large landownersalthough child labour in agriculture is supposed to take place outside schooling, in reality during harvesting children must work long and hard all day longthe wish to contribute to the family income is a key factor in starting work as an agricultural labourer by all respondents. A higher percentage of boys in comparison to girls decided themselves to begin working in agriculture in Ghana, whereas the opposite is true in the Philippinesapart from missing out on schooling, particularly at harvest time, children perform many tasks without any training or personal protective equipment and clothing, and are exposed to poisoning from chemicals, and to serious injuries and even death from equipmentpoorer working conditions of the child labourers are associated with poverty. In order to improve the conditions for child labour in agriculture, an improvement to the overall economic situation of the agricultural areas should be a foremost concernin each country, the government must take the necessary steps to identify, detain and punish those responsible for exploiting young girls and boys, and must organize a campaign against the acceptance of such exploitation