Profiles of child labour: prevalence, activities, contexts, and children’s harm extent in Raya-Kobo and Angot Districts, Ethiopia

Abstract

Using a mixed research design, the overall objective of this study is to investigate the profiles of child labour in Ethiopia’s districts of Raya-Kobo and Angot. The study’s specific objectives are to examine types of activities and prevalence of child labour, to identify the children’s working contexts, and to evaluate the extent of harm children face in workplaces. The study hypothesizes the existence of significant variations in the profiles of child labour (activity types, prevalence rates, settings, and level of harm to children) as a result of several circumstances. While survey methodology was used to collect primary data from 431 randomly selected respondents, desk review and document analysis were also used to gather secondary data. The sampling procedures used include multi-stage purposive and systematic random sampling. Descriptive and inferential (Ordered Probit Regression model) methods of data analysis are utilized to analyze the data. The results of the descriptive analysis demonstrate a high incidence and magnitude of child labour, as well as children’s early entry to work. The regression analysis reveals children’s exposure to high levels of harm at work, which is directly exacerbated by household age, income diversification, land fragmentation, livestock number, shocks, and the predicted value of remittances. Contrarily, access to rural transportation, household heads’ education level, cart ownership, and family size reduce children’s harm extent while working. The study highlights the need to design strategies for age-appropriate work to protect children from hazardous and high-intensity activities, undertake community awareness campaigns about the impact of child labour on children, and strengthen local stakeholders’ capacity. Additionally, connecting rural areas and farmers’ croplands to towns or major routes via repaired or new roads would be beneficial.