Child labor practice is not new in Haiti; it can be traced back since the colonial time. This form of children’s exploitation is so common in Haiti that even civil society and government agencies remain complacent as tens of thousands of children from rural areas -mostly girls- are being enslaved. Since children from rural Haiti were born to the poorest people in the country, are sent by their parents to stay with a family, a friend, or a total stranger in the city, and offer their services in exchange of food, lodging and the opportunity to go to school. With three fourths of these children being girls, their ages range between 5 and 14.

 

Although there is a widespread idea that many of these children are safe with host families, they are often forced to work in hazardous or indecent conditions, have to be available around the clock, are not allowed or too tired to go to school, and are abused by one or more host family members. Moreover, there are psychological and social stigma that can negatively impact children who have been subjected to domestic labor through the rest of their lives. Child labor practice is also a practice in poor rural household where underage children has to help their parents in many activities for which they are not physically and emotionally ready. The time these children should have spent in school is allocated to activities that are vital for their survival. They include, but not limited, to house chores, farming, animal husbandry, fishing, processing, harvesting, selling goods on sidewalks and kiosks, etc.

 

Haitian law prohibits the employment of minors under 12 as live-in domestic workers. The Haitian Government has signed international pacts including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child barring child slavery and servitude. However, passing and enacting laws to end child labor practices in Haiti is not enough. Children are trafficked both internally and to the Dominican Republic. However, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor whose responsibilities are to protect children and workers has not taken any actions to enforce the law.

 

While outlawing child labor practice is major step toward addressing this issue, it is as much important to highlight its main cause, which is extreme poverty. By experience, we know that the only was to stop and prevent child labor practices in Haiti is to reduce poverty through the empower women who have held these rural communities together for centuries. Empowering women in this context also involves establishing mechanism for Haiti’s rural women to have access to resources in a sustainable manner. How do we know this is the right solution? As we review the literature on child labor or child exploitation in Haiti in the last three centuries, we noticed only children born to poor parents have been trapped in this dehumanizing situation.