World Day Against Child Labor is today and activists around the globe are uniting to highlight the ghastly conditions to which kids are subjected to and the insufficient pay these poverty-stricken school-age children take home.
Pope Francis called for action against "slavery" of child labor, which he said was on the rise in poor countries and affected young girls in particular.
"There are millions of minors, mostly young girls, who are victims of this form of hidden exploitation which often includes sexual abuse, poor treatment and discrimination," he told a crowd of 60,000 gathered in St Peter's Square for his weekly audience.
Pope Francis called for "ever more effective measures to fight this plague," which he said was "a deplorable phenomenon constantly on the increase."
In an 87-page report released to mark World Day Against Child Labor on June 12, it also underscored that rural families in Pakistan and Nepal are sometimes forced to send their children into domestic service in order to pay off their debts.
According to the International Labour Organziation (ILO), 10.5 million kids are employed to cook and clean homes, where they're often subjected to hazardous conditions and sexual abuse. The ILO said such youngsters usually work in the homes of a third party or employer, carrying out tasks such as cleaning, ironing, cooking, gardening, collecting water, looking after other children and caring for the elderly.
This line of work, perhaps, puts kids at most risk because there's a "blurred relationship" with employing an entire family, the organization told Voice of America.
"It is slavery!" the Pope said. "All children should be able to play, study, pray and grow, in their own families, in a harmonious environment, one of love and serenity. It is their right and our duty," he said.
"Woe betide those who stifle the joyous impulse of hope," he added.
