Daily Times

LAHORE: The HomeNet Pakistan has said that the incidents of violence against child domestic workers are increasing in educated and influential families.

It also condemned increasing number of incidents in major cities of Pakistan and stated that cases of violence against child domestic workers were very alarming and shameful.

It added that recent reported incidents of child domestic violence in Islamabad and Lahore was highly gruesome. “Ironically, these incidents involved educated and influential families inflicting serious violence against minor children mainly girls. Civil society organisations see this as both alarming and shameful,” it added.

According to a statement issued on Thursday, the HomeNet Pakistan urged the Punjab government that Employment of Children Act 2016 should extend to children involved in domestic labour.

“Moreover the domestic policy approved by the Punjab government in 2015 also needs to be implemented. Child domestic labour is a global phenomenon. Unfortunately, Pakistan is also among those countries where due to increased poverty, over population, inflation and lack of opportunities for employment, children are being dumped by their parents in houses for meagre monthly remuneration and employers are free to exploit them by paying low and inflicting all sorts of physical, sexual and psychological violence,” the statement added.

“Children involved in domestic work are usually from rural areas or urban squatters where there are reported instances of mortgage and loans. Parents hand over their children to contactor mafia, who then in place them at cheaper rates in urban settlements where they are forced to do odd jobs from child caring to cleaning, washing, and other difficult chores. Ironically, no protection or regulation exists to protect these vulnerable children from exploitation and extreme violence,” it said, and demanded the government to formulate a comprehensive policy and legislation to prohibit such employment of minor children and protect them from violence and forced employment.

“An Awareness raising campaign should be initiated at all levels to create awareness among the masses to avoid employment of children as domestic labourers. All children must go to schools.”

A spokesperson for the Children Advocacy Network-CAN Pakistan highlighted that SDG 8.7 was also stressing to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.

The CAN Pakistan also regretted that in recently promulgated ‘The Punjab Restriction on Children’s Employment Act 2016, the contemporary form of slavery child domestic labour was not declared prohibited. The CAN Pakistan also strongly demanded that provincial governments must include the child domestic labour in the list of hazardous occupations, and put a complete ban on this contemporary form of slavery.

The HomeNet Pakistan is a membership-based network, comprising membership-based organisations representing the majority of home-based workers across Pakistan.