User:Jwxsib/sandbox

Article evaluation
In Rigoberta Menchú's biographical wikipedia page, there are three cases where citations are needed. In addition, the discussion in the talk page reveals different opinions on the accuracy that the information presented has.

Relevancy: The information of the article is pretty relevant, but I think lots of components of a good biographical page is missing. The personal life part is too short, and the whole entry disproportionately focuses on the controversy around her testimony, mentioning little of her later involvement in politics and run for president of Guatemala

Neutrality: The tone of the article is pretty neutral, mostly describe her, but not making judgements. In the controversy part where one can easily be opinionated, the author of the page did a good job in presenting balanced views from either perspectives.

Assign myself an article and choose my topic
The topic I chose is child labor in Brazil. There is currently no entry on the issue.

Sources:



This is a report done by US Department of Labor that basically gives a contemporary overview of child labor in Brazil. There are lots of specific statistics in relation to types of labor that child labors are involved.



This is a popular source that summarizes part of the child labor progress in Brazil and how different regions show different patterns of child labor.



This is an overview of the legislation that Brazilian government has in place to protect Children's rights.


 * Child Labour's Global Past, 1650-2000". eds.b.ebscohost.com.

Part of this book details the history of child labor in Brazil.

= Child Labor in Brazil = Child labor in Brazil is one of the social problems in Brazil. More than 2.7 million young people between 5 and 17 years of age work in the country, with 79 thousand children between 5 and 9 years of age, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in 2015, despite law established 16 years as the minimum age for entering the labor market and 14 to work as an apprentice.

About 30% of child labor is in the agricultural sector; region-wise, 60% in the North and Northeast; ethnicity-wise, 65% of black children; gender-wise, 70% of boys. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), poverty is one of the main causes of child labor in the world, and Brazil is no different. Children are forced to work in order to increase family income, leaving aside studies and social life.

Since the enactment of the 1988 Constitution, which prohibits child labor, the Brazilian government has stepped up against this form of exploitation, by adhering to international conventions on the subject. There were social movements such as #ChegaDeTrabalhoInfantil, changes in laws and investments in income-generating programs for families, notably Bolsa Família as probably the most well-known conditional cash transfer program in Latin America. Progress is achieved as the number of young people working went from about 8 million in 1992 to 5 million in 2003.

Despite the improvements, the momentum still carried on and if the efforts being made are suspended now, it will be as if nothing had happened. Brazil accounts for a quarter of children working in Latin America and in the comparison between 2014 and 2015 there was a 13% increase in the number of children under 10 years of age in this situation. During the year 2016 were registered 1 238 reports of cases of child exploitation to the Public Prosecutor's Office. Many cases of child labor in informal economy such as child prostitution or drug trafficking went unrecorded.

Definition
Federal constitution of Brazil: protection of minors appears in article 7, XXXIII in which it prohibits night work, dangerous or unhealthy for teenagers under 18 years and any work under 16 years, (apprentices allowed starting at 14 years).

However, on the international stage, definitions of child labor vary between organizations.

The term 'child labour', according to ILO, is defined as "work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development". It refers to work can cause damage to children mentally, physically, socially or morally, work that deprives children's ability to attend school, work that place heavy burden on them alongside schoolwork. There is no universal definition of child labor according to ILO since the definition largely depends on context of working environment, legal working age and the type of work engaged. Among all the forms of child labor, ILO defines child slavery, child prostitution, child crime-work (drug trafficking) and any work that jeopardizes the safety of children as the worst forms of child labor.

UNICEF has a different criteria for child labor. For children between 5 to 11 years old, they are categorized as child labor if at least one hour of economic activity or at least 28 hours of domestic work was performed by them weekly. For children between 12 and 14 years of age, at least 14 hours of economic activity or at least 42 hours of economic activity and domestic work per week make them child labor.

History
Child labor issue has been a part of Brazilian history since 1500. However, because the notion of youth or child was not well defined until the middle of the nineteenth century in Brazil, there was limited information of child labor before the 20th century. Early documentation of Portuguese vessels indicated evidence of minors working in the 16th century for sea trips, as labor for immigrants from Portugal and other parts of Europe. Though children engaged in domestic work prior to the arrival of European settlers, the degree of child labor in Brazil intensified drastically after. The first organization to use minors as labor force was the Brazilian Navy during the Paraguay War. Data suggested over 600 children between age nine to age twelve were on the battlefield. This involvement with military or contact with weapons characterize some of the worst forms of child labor in Brazil even up to today. Children in favelas are seen as valuable and desirable middlemen in drug trafficking since their age makes them immune to legal prosecution according to the law. Not surprisingly, children were used widely as labor force during the slavery period just as other colonial regions. They worked on plantations for sugar production. Slaveholders embraced the idea of making children work since the overall productivity increases without taking in more slaves.

Industrialization in Brazil, starting from late 19th century, carried on the exploitation of children during the slavery period. Capitalists were willing to take in minors since there was no regulation and they are of low cost. In São Paulo, the center of industrialization where mass work force was demanded, there were ads published by textile sectors to recruit children in the mid-1870s. As a matter of fact, the majority of the working class of São Paulo was made up of poor immigrants and the work of immigrant children was a source of income that some families dependent on. 25 percent of the labor force of the textile industry of São Paulo was children in the year 1890. In Rio de Janeiro, 64 percentage of workers of a textile factory were children during 1865. Children suffered physical injuries or even death due to the harsh work they engaged, the poor working conditions they worked in or even the violent treatment of their business owners. For example, Armando Dias, a minor worker in the textile industry, was killed by an electric shock during work in November 1913. When a teenager Francisco Augusto de Fonseca didn't perform his job up to the owner's expectation, his face was brutally hit by the owner. Child labor during this period was seen as necessity: capitalists exploited the low cost of minor workers and used them to suppress the wages for adult workers; poor families also need children to work to support their life.

Attempts to protect the rights of children and regulate child labor emerged during late 19th century. There was a decree in 1891 that concerned minor employees in the factories of the Federal Capital. In 1912, Brazilian Labour Confederation was established and it endeavored to push for restrictions on child labor. In 1917, workers in São Paulo went on a strike and part of their demands included eradication of night work for under-18 and total eradication of work for under-14. In 1919, a law passed in São Paulo restricted legal working age to 14 years old. The constitutional amendments (1934,1937,1946) rendered any work performed by minors under 14 illegal. But during the military government ruling period, minimum working age was lowered to 12. The 1988 amendment, the 1998 amendment and a law in 2000 together made up of the current legal definition of child labor: prohibiting any form of hazardous work for under-18, prohibiting any form of labor under 16 except for the case of apprenticeships which are allowed at 14.

On 28th Jun 2000, the Brazilian government ratified ILO convention 138. Earlier in the same year on 02nd Feb 2000, the government ratified ILO convention 182.

Current situation
Nowadays, achievements are made in Brazil on the issue and it is clear that the Brazilian governments demonstrate considerable commitment and dedication to eradicate child labor. In Brazil, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics conducts the Brazilian National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) annually since 1981. This survey boosts the availability of data on child labor issue in the region. In 2005, more than 2.9 million children under the age of 17 engage themselves in some forms of labor. This figure represents 7.8% of the age group back in 2005.

The survey in 2016 indicates that 4.6% of the 5-17 age group (1.8 million out of 30 million) are working, which is a large improvement from 2005. In 2016, most of the minor employments are found in the age group 14-17: 0.2% of the 5-9 age group is working, 1.3% for the 10-13 age group, 6.4% for the 14-16 age group and 17% for the 16-17 age group. The extent to which child labor persists vary between regions. The North and the South have the highest children working rate at 5.7% and 6.3% respectively. For the age group under 14, the North and the Northeast have the highest rate at 1.5% and 1%. In terms of race, the black and brown (Preta e parda) population covers 64.1% of child labor as compared to the 35.9% of the white (Branca). In terms of gender, 65.3% are male children and the rest are females. 47.6% of people 5-13 years exercising agricultural activities, while 21.4% of 14-17 years do so. Some agricultural duties are performed because they are seen as a part of the socialization process, but this occurrence of agriculture as socialization process should not be confused with the fact some children are forced to work in agricultures to compensate family incomes.

Despite the fact that percentage of child labor is gradually decreasing, many kids in Brazil are still exploited and engaged in hazardous or even the worst forms of child labor. Within the agricultural sector, children fish and harvest mollusks, produce rice, soy and tobacco, involve in charcoal production. Within the industrial sector, children work in quarries, produce bricks and slaughter animals. In the service sector, children are found doing street work such as garbage scavenging ; they participate in selling alcohol. More severely, children are working for crime activities or sex business. As a matter of fact, child sex tourism is common in coastal areas that usually attract tourists and girls from other South American countries are involved in commercial sex in Brazil.

Currently, the efforts put in to further reduce child labor are working towards Goal 8 of the Sustainable Development Goals which "Promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all."

Legal framework
The Ministry of Labor (MTE) is the major government institution in charge of labor law enforcement. The responsibilities of this institution include conduct child labor inspections, enforce child labor laws and send inspection teams include inspectors, labor prosecutors, Federal Police officers and other law enforcement officials to sites where child labor problems are suspected. However, existing gaps in the operations of MTE hinder the full enforcement of labor laws. 7491 child labor inspections were conducted in the year 2017, but issues with insufficient funding limits the abilities of regions where there are no local MTE offices to conduct inspections. For example, in July 2017, inspectors were refused to carry out child labor inspections in the states of São Paulo and Rio Grande do Norte.

Government policies
==== National Plan to Combat Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents (2013–2020) ==== This plan reaffirms uncompromising commitment to defend the rights of children and adolescents, especially those who are in threatening situation where fundamental rights are violated. Specifically, this plan "identifies strategies to prevent the sexual exploitation of children, protect children’s rights, and assist child victims". And here are a list of goals this plan tries to achieve.


 * 1) Ensure preventive action against abuse or sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, primarily through education, awareness and self-defense.
 * 2) Ensure specialized assistance to children and adolescents in situations of sexual abuse or exploitation, by trained and specialized professionals, as well as ensuring care for the person who commits sexual violence, while respecting the diversity of ethnic-racial condition, gender, religion, culture, sexual orientation, etc.
 * 3) Update the regulatory framework on sexual crimes, combat impunity, provide skilled reporting and accountability services.
 * 4) Promote the active participation of children and adolescents for the defense of their rights in the development and implementation of protection policies.
 * 5) Strengthen national joint, regional and local coping and the elimination of abuse or sexual exploitation involving media, networking, forums, commissions, councils.
 * 6) Understanding the expressions of abuse or sexual exploitation of children and adolescents through diagnostics, data collection, studies and research.

==== National Plan for the Eradication of Forced Labor ==== Forced labor is an integral part of child labor issue in Brazil. Some children are forced to do domestic work or play in the soccer clubs; some children are forced to produce coffee and manioc. The current version of National Plan for the Eradication, introduced in 2008, establishes the policy framework in combating forced labor. Some of the main things this plan tries to do are:


 * 1) Keep the eradication of forced labor as a priority for the state.
 * 2) Establish integrated operational strategies of action in relation to the preventive actions of the executive bodies, prosecutors and civil society in order to eradicate forced labor.
 * 3) Create and maintain a database containing information of key players involved in the fight against forced labor to assist in prevention and repression actions and drafting of laws.
 * 4) Provide national and regional mobile inspection teams in sufficient numbers to meet the complaints and demands of the annual plan of inspection.

==== National Education Plan (2014-2024) ==== Education is believed to some extent the best solution to child labor issues. The National Education Plan is a demonstration of the determination of Brazilian government to improve the quality and accessibility of education. This plan entails 20 goals and it not only encompasses basic education for children, it also aims to promote the quality of higher education. For example, goal 14 states that the plan endeavors to gradually increase the number of enrollments in graduate school.

Social programs
There are many social programs in Brazil that aims to address child labor directly or indirectly. Some of them are funded by governments like the famous Bolsa Família, the conditional cash transfer program introduced during the Lula period. Some of them take the form of social media and gather attention on the internet such as #ChegaDeTrabalhoInfantil (#stopchildlabor).

National Program to Eradicate Child Labor
This program is a set of actions that aim to remove children and adolescents under 16 from early work, except as an apprentice from 14 years. The program, besides ensuring a direct transfer of income to families, offers the inclusion of children and young people in counseling and follow-up services. Attendance at school is also required. It is initiated and administered by Ministry of Social Development. The Federal Government pays a monthly grant: of R $ 25 per child in activity for the family who withdraws the child labor, in municipalities, in rural or urban areas, with a population of less than 250,000 inhabitants; of R $ 40 per child, in urban activity, in capitals, metropolitan regions and municipalities with a population 250,000 inhabitants. The benefited family has to ensure a higher than 85% attendance of their kids above clearing them from child labor to receive the grant.

Bolsa Família
Bolsa Família is a social welfare program of the Government of Brazil, part of the Fome Zero network of federal assistance programs. Bolsa Família provides financial aid to poor Brazilian families; and if they have children, families must ensure that the children attend school and are vaccinated. If they exceed the total of permitted school absences, they are dropped from the program and their funds are suspended.In 2017, 93.1 percent of 6–15 years old achieve 85 percent school attendance; 82.3 percent of 16–17 years old met the minimum requirement of 75 percent school attendance. However, there are researches suggest that Girls receive dramatic more benefits from this program and boys are no significant affected.

#StopChildLabor Campaign
In 2017, the Public Ministry of Labor (MPT) has begun the campaign " #stopChildLabor" that seeks the engagement of Internet users in social networks, encouraging them to post the hashtag gesture in their profiles as a way to support the cause against the irregular work of children and adolescents. The campaign has received support from celebrities, including singers sertanejos Daniel, Chitãozinho and Xororó, former volleyball player Maurício Lima and former basketball player Hortência Marcari.