WE continue discussing internal child trafficking in Zambia. This week we examine factors that lead to children being trafficked, particularly for exploitative domestic labour.
It was established in previous discussions that it is common practice in Zambia for parents to teach children responsibilities like cleaning the house, doing laundry and gardening.
Household chores undertaken by children in their own homes, in reasonable conditions, and under the supervision of those close to them can be an integral part of family life and of growing up.
In fact, such work can positively contribute to childhood development.
However, there are many instances where doing household chores becomes exploitative especially when children are taken away from their homes to work in other households as maids, garden boys or farm labourers.
According to the Zambia Anti-Human Trafficking Act No.11 of 2008, Human Trafficking is defined as: the ‘recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, receipt or obtaining a person, within or across the territorial boundaries of Zambia… by means of any threats or use of force or other forms of coercion; abduction; fraud or deception; false or illegal adoption of a child contrary to the Adoption Act or any other written law;
The destruction, concealment, removal, confiscation or possession of any passport, immigration document or other official identification document of a person;  the abuse or threatened abuse of the law or legal process or any other form of abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability; or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of the person… for the purpose of their exploitation.
But what factors cause the law to be flouted?
The following causes were part of findings of a research conducted by the United Nations (UN) in 2011 on child domestic labour and human trafficking in Zambia. The research findings were published in a report entitled ‘Sweeping the bedroom.’
Poverty was cited as the first factor. A woman of Magazine compound told researchers that she was trafficked for domestic exploitative labour because of the problems her family faced. The woman who began domestic work at the age of 12 said her parents had nothing and she thought working as a domestic servant would help the family raise some money to sustain itself.
Where children faced poverty related problems in their homes, such as lack of food, clothing, or even having nowhere to sleep, there was a likelihood of the family resorting to looking for work for such children. If poverty was not there, the family would have no reason to send children into exploitative domestic labour.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, poverty emerged as the overwhelming push factor. It was identified in all concept mapping groups as one of the main reasons that made families send their children to work other households.
Secondly, unemployment played a big role alongside poverty and was cited as a problem particularly in the townships. People felt everywhere you look in the townships, there were people who just sat at home. They had no food and no capacity to take children to school.
Most people in the townships have no form of income. When asked how most of them made a living, the men said their major occupation was “just walking around looking for food.”
Children’s individual interviews reflected that their move into work could be precipitated by unemployment or death of adult heads of households.
Sending children from poor families into domestic work was done for three main reasons linked to poverty: firstly that domestic work could provide opportunities or a better life for the child
Secondly, that it could lessen the financial burden on the family, perhaps because the family could be heavily burdened with orphans and sending one away could lessen the burden by leaving fewer children to look after
Thirdly, that the child could help his or her family gain income or goods as a result of working.
It was evident in some of the individual interviews with child domestic workers that the little money they worked for was sometimes the only regular income in their household of origin especially when the household was headed by grandparents or widows.
Child domestic workers from such vulnerable households reported giving around three-quarters of their pay to their household of origin if they got paid on a regular basis.
Thirdly, alcohol use among parents was also cited as having an influence on a child going into exploitative domestic work. Alcohol abuse among parents was often linked to the parents failing to raise their children properly.
In the village,alcohol abuse among parents emerged as a particular issue especially at harvest time, where the risk of the father spending the money raised by selling crops on beer was great.
Some participants in the research felt fathers who are given to alcohol abuse tend not to appreciate the rest of the family when they have all worked hard to cultivate the crops which the father sells.
Children of such parents see other families with new things and they start thinking of looking for work to buy their own things.
In the Chelstone Township in Lusaka, some women in the household discussion groups blamed those who “prefer drinking the local brews in bars from morning till sunset instead of looking for food to feed their children.” The women felt such parents who drink would send their children to work as maids, rather than work themselves.
Fourthly, orphanhood and HIV: Orphanhood was mentioned in all groups as a contributing factor to children getting into exploitative domestic work.
Orphans were reportedly less likely to be in school, more likely to be ready to do a “lot of work”  more likely to be sent into domestic work.
During the workshops and interviews with children, it was evident how HIV related illness and death undermined educational opportunities of exploited children and pushed them to move from place to place and into exploitative domestic work.
HIV was not often mentioned explicitly but was implicit in the stories of children and communities discourse.
Members of the public, child trafficking victims or stakeholders concerned can dial 990 toll-free from any land line telephone, Cell Z or an  Airtel line from anywhere in Zambia to talk to a trained nurse and counsellor.