Child “marriage” is not merely a harmful traditional practice: it is a crime, it is child labour in its worst form, and it is a complete violation of a girl’s human rights. AIDS-Free World is pushing the International Labour Organization (ILO) to recognize girls who are forced into illegal marriages as child labourers.
Why? Because millions of girls aren't being counted.
Consider the significant difference between the numbers of girls and boys engaged in hazardous work according to a 2017 ILO Report:
Millions of Children in Hazardous Work
Why does the gender gap increase as children get older? The increased number of boys in factory job can't be the only reason. What if girls are getting "married" and disappearing from child labour statistics?
AIDS-Free World decided to take this question to the ILO. Watch the video below to learn about those initial discussions (note that statistics in this video are from pre-2017).
But that's not the end of this story.
Click on the sections below to learn why the labour in child "marriages" fits the definition of child labour and the ILO's various arguments for refusing to update their child labour statistics.
Photo: Shutterstock
The problem
Learn why millions of under-age girls in illegal child "marriages" should properly be classified as child labourers.
UN Photo/ UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré
the ilo's position
Read the evolution of the ILO's illogical contention for why the labour of girls in illegal child "marriages" isn't included in child labour statistics.