Child Domestic Work, Violence, and Health Outcomes: A Rapid Systematic Review.

Aye Myat Thi,Meghna Ranganathan,Clara W. Chan,Nicola S. Pocock,Cathy Zimmerman

doi:10.3390/ijerph19010427

Abstract

This rapid systematic review describes violence and health outcomes among child domestic workers (CDWs) taken from 17 studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries. Our analysis estimated the median reported rates of violence in CDWs aged 5–17-year-olds to be 56.2% (emotional; range: 13–92%), 18.9% (physical; range: 1.7–71.4%), and 2.2% (sexual; range: 0–62%). Both boys and girls reported emotional abuse and sexual violence with emotional abuse being the most common. In Ethiopia and India, violence was associated with severe physical injuries and sexual insecurity among a third to half of CDWs. CDWs in India and Togo reported lower levels of psycho-social well-being than controls. In India, physical punishment was correlated with poor psycho-social well-being of CDWs [OR: 3.6; 95% CI: 3.2–4; p < 0.0001]. Across the studies, between 7% and 68% of CDWs reported work-related illness and injuries, and one third to half had received no medical treatment. On average, children worked between 9 and 15 h per day with no rest days. Findings highlight that many CDWs are exposed to abuse and other health hazards but that conditions vary substantially by context. Because of the often-hidden nature of child domestic work, future initiatives will need to be specifically designed to reach children in private households. Young workers will also benefit from strategies to change social norms around the value and vulnerability of children in domestic work and the long-term implications of harm during childhood.

Highlights

Evidence from around the world indicates that exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE) hinders children’s development and wellbeing and can often have lifelong effects [1,2]
We focus on the prevalence of health and violence outcomes among child domestic workers
We identified 17 studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries that described violence and health outcomes experienced by child domestic workers

Summary

Introduction

Evidence from around the world indicates that exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE) hinders children’s development and wellbeing and can often have lifelong effects [1,2]. Children engaged in child labor, including child domestic workers, are vulnerable to different forms of violence, exploitation, and neglect [3]. Child domestic workers are defined as children younger than 18 years who are engaged in domestic work outside the home of their own family for remuneration (whether paid or unpaid), a portion of whom work in hazardous or exploitative situations akin to slavery [4]. There remains very limited data on regional estimates of child domestic workers; statistics indicate that Asia contains the most (41%) domestic workers [7] and the second-most (60.7 million) child laborers in the world [8].

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Conclusion