Vulnerabilities, support systems and child domestic work in South-West Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT Child domestic work (CDW) is often depicted as a poverty-induced and ignorance-manufactured problem requiring urgent attention. Thus, the dominant policies in this regard have often advocated addressing the factors pushing children into domestic service while little or nothing is done about factors beyond the sending households or the structures within which the work is done. This article examines factors influencing employers’ choices, and the context in which child domestic work occurs in South-West Nigeria to highlight the shortcomings of the existing explanations and strategies of addressing child domestic work. The paper contends that individual choices in child domestic work are predicated on an informal support system that thrives in the context of deficiencies in infrastructures and state welfare provision. It concludes by calling for appropriate policies to address these areas.