FOSTER CHILD, HOUSE HELP OR DOMESTIC SERVITUDE

Growing up in the seventies, our home was always crowded with relatives coming and going almost on a weekly basis. Although my parents had only 6 children, several other children, siblings, nieces and nephews of my mum and dad resided with us at various times to gain an education or to search for jobs. Many Nigerians can identify with this experience and it is still a common practise today. What is the status of the children in the home of their relatives? Legally they have not been adopted. Traditionally we may assume that these children are foster children in their new homes. But the Law assumes differently because in the absence of a formal legal adoption of a child who is removed from parental custody, there may be a presumption of child labour, and child trafficking.  

Are you harbouring a child or any person who is below 18years in your home as a house help, or permanently resident relative?  What exactly is the child’s role and the legal status of that child in your house?  Be informed.

The International Labour Organisation’s Convention 189 requires member states of the ILO to fix a minimum age for domestic labour. And although Nigeria is yet to enact a domestic labour bill that would regulate that industry, the Child Rights Act 2003 defines a child as any person below the age of 18years, and prohibits engagement of children as domestic house helps.

Did you know?

Under the Child Rights Act the engaging children in any of the following ways is a criminal offence because it amounts to forced exploitative or hazardous child labour:-

•          Engaging Children as Domestic house helps living outside their own home or family environment

•          Children hawking or begging for alms

•          Children Lifting or moving heavy objects; or

•          Children  Working  in industries

And if the Child Rights Act or its equivalent state laws does not apply in the state where you reside, you need to take a look at the NAPTIP Law which is a Federal law. That law prohibits trafficking in person’s including children.

Child trafficking is the act of either Recruitment; Transportation; Transfer; Harbouring; or Receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation. A third person or group may have organized these acts for exploitative purposes. Exploitation is not only in clear instances like involving children in forced labour, slavery, prostitution or illicit drug trade. Exploitation takes many forms and exists wherever the child is engaged in:

Ø  dirty, dangerous work

Ø  for little or no pay,

Ø  with inadequate rest time,

Ø  no safety nets like health insurance or social assistance, and

Ø  Often with a degree of force or violence.

 

 And as the definition above implies, everyone involved either as agent, or as harbourer or employer of the child is guilty of the offence of trafficking in persons. Furthermore where a child is trafficked, his/her consent to the transfer, recruitment or harbouring etc for exploitative purposes is irrelevant and does not matter.

The following acts amount to child trafficking, and are criminal offences:

•          Buying, selling or hiring children for any unlawful purposes such as Hawking, begging alms, prostitution, domestic or sexual labour

•          Abduction, unlawful removal and transfer of a child from lawful custody

Does this describe the situation of any child in your house, whether a relative or not? If it does, you are engaged in child labour and possibly child trafficking. And you may not know this but NAPTIP officials have powers to arrest and prosecute offenders.

Child traffickers and child labour offenders are guilty or liable on 1 or more of 4 grounds:

1.      Violating Children’s Rights;

2.      Committing a Criminal act or offence;

3.      Committing Labour, Migration and Exploitation offences as well as,

4.      Perpetrating the Worst forms of child labour.

 

See the Child Rights Act, 2003; States Child Rights Laws; Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2003 as amended in 2005.