The Stream

The youngest labourers

The Stream examines the fight against the forced child labour industry.

Kidnapped, smuggled across international borders and sold into forced labour. This is the reality for 5.5 million children around the world who have been trafficked and made to work without any hope of returning home, according to the International Labour Organization.  In some instances the child is peddled by their own family for money or to pay off a debt, as most of the victims come from poor or marginalised communities. In conflict zones, children are especially at risk of being sold to armed groups, often forced to participate in military conflict. So what can put an end to the trafficking of children into forced labour? We speak with Rani Hong, a survivour of child trafficking. 

On this episode of The Stream, we speak to:

Rani Hong @ranisvoice
Child trafficking survivor
troniefoundation.org

Jeffrey Blom
President, Global Sentry Group
globalsentry.wordpress.com

Aidan McQuade @the_mcquade
Director, Anti-Slavery International
antislavery.org

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.