This is an infographic from The Aangan Trust using its own data collected from its mobile app. The study throws light on child labour in hotspots across India for Child Labour Day

1. 350community-based
women volunteers across 80
child harm hotspots in six
states collected household
vulnerability data from over
19000 families inclusive of over
40000 children, using the Aangan
child-safety mobile app. Over
7000 or 37% of these households
acknowledged being in debt. Far
fewer households (1147) than is
realistically estimated, admitted
to engaging their children in
work or earning activities–
understandably due to the fear
and stigma associated with
sharing such sensitive information
that exposes an illegal activity
within the household (child
labour). This is their data story
giving us a glimpse of how
seemingly unrelated elements
can be intertwined and have
far-reaching consequences for
children and their families.
A quick glance into the most vulnerable of the
vulnerable
Average monthly income of
households with working
children is Rs. 3000-4000
(compared to
Rs. 4000-5000 for
other households within
vulnerable communities)
72% children
earn less than Rs. 2250 a
month, working an average
of 4-6 hours a day
58%of child labourers are the first-
born in their family.
46% of children from
community households have at least
one unemployed
parent compared to only 31%of households that have working children
Over three-quarters
76%of child
labourers are boys.
Indicating that the eldest born teenage son of particularly vulnerable
households are the likeliest to be pulled out of school and take on the financial
burden of the entire family. Despite a higher number of adult earning members
combined with the child’s earnings, the working child’s household income fails
to attain even average income levels of community households. It would be
fair to say then that the working child’s household is doing its best to survive,
but it’s a daily struggle.
Family Indebtedness and Child Labour…Could there be a Link?
~ 52%of the households with working children are in debt (compared to 37% for the overall households
in vulnerable communities)
~ 57% of the children who dropped out of school to engage in child labour belong to indebted families
~ An alarming 20% are forced to enter into child labour soon after a loan is taken to repay debts taken
on by their parents
~ 7% of the indebted bonded labour households include working children
Yes. Without a doubt. And the link is a glaring one!
The Immediate Fall-outs of Debt for Community Households
~ 36% households were forced to migrate for work to seek higher pay for repayment of loans,
uprooting entire families
~ 23% households resorted to less nutritious and lower quantities of food in order to survive while
repaying loans, potentially contributing to child malnutrition
The consequences are severe and in many cases, irreversible!
Children as young as 5 years work
to contribute to family incomes. The
majority 88%however
are aged between 13-17 years.

2. Why are vulnerable households drowned in debt?... The Top Two Triggers
for Indebtedness
~ The average household annual income of indebted households is Rs. 48000, while the average debt amount ranges between
Rs. 30000-40000, leaving little room for household expenses when repaying loans
~ 72% of the lenders constitute informal sources such as family members, neighbours, friends and community-based
unauthorized money lenders – signifying interest rates that could be above market rates
~ 7% of households admitted to cyclic loan-taking by seeking additional loans to repay previously taken loans resulting in a
downward spiral that appears impossible to get out of
Inability to Access Basic and Timely Health Care Services
~ Over half of the households (56%) in debt are forced to take loans due to inability
to access basic health care. These loans were taken for illness, injury, and child birth
Housing and Shelter
of
households enter the
debt trap by taking
a loan for house
construction or repair,
making it the second
biggest reason for
indebtedness.
26%
School-age children from
of these
households
have dropped out of
school
12%
of these
households do
not have access to hospital
facilities, while
have no access
to Primary
Health Care (PHC) services
78%
61%
One in every twenty indebted
households also witnessed an under-5
death within the family, of which
died due to
illness
72% died due to
accidents
17%
&
of those families/ parents
engaged in bonded
labour were forced to do so due to
illness/ poor health within the family
53%School-age children from
of these
households
have dropped out of school
13%
Could there possibly be a role that the Health and Housing sector can play
in reducing child labour?
Experts say YES.
Better access to finance alone would reduce indebtedness for households, thus ensuring that children do not engage in labour.
There’s no question that there’s a tremendous rate of indebtedness due to loans taken on for building or repairing houses.
The amount also increases because most of the families taking loans do so from money lenders who charge a very high level
of interest- sometimes even 36% a year, so a lot of the loans taken from us go into repaying the money lenders. Most of
these families do not have access to formal financial institutions and that definitely increases the level of indebtedness for
them. The reasons for going to a money lender is also due to lack of financial inclusion for the marginalised communities
which is why they have no access to loans from banks. However, we can see an increasing focus on this issue but I do think
that it’ll take another 5-10 years to get to where we want. At the moment the only way this gap can be addressed is through
organizations such as ours … but we need many others to follow this model.
- Rajnish Dhall, MD, Micro Housing Finance Ltd.
There’s a direct relationship between indebtedness for healthcare expenses and child labour. And tackling this requires
multiple issues to be addressed.
What we need is financial protection in healthcare. Social protection is lacking even within government schemes leading
to low income groups becoming dependent on private alternatives. These families already live below the poverty line and
indebtedness drives them further into poverty. In addition to this, insurance almost always does not reach the poor; even
that which is provided by the government does not reduce health expenditure. We could look at alternatives to see where
cash transfers are required to get families out of indebtedness. Perhaps what is required is not just financial protection but
also solutions such as wage compensation for the poor. Access to PHCs must be combined with financial protection for
reducing indebtedness, which would in turn reduce the need for families to push their children into child labour.
- Prof. T Sundararaman, Dean of School of Health Systems Studies,
TISS Mumbai and former Executive Director of National Health Systems Resource Centre
It’s a no-brainer to say that the answer to tackling the issue of child labour lies in addressing its drivers. Regulating child
labour practice while important, is to miss the wood for the trees. On this World Day Against Child Labour, we’re opening up
the conversation – asking for a multi-sectoral approach, and a deeper sense of responsibility across government departments
and industries. Because really, protecting children is everybody’s business.
© 2017, The Aangan Trust. All rights reserved.