Rapid Assessment on Child Labour in the Agricultural Sector
| Status: |
Published
15 November 2013 - 15 January 2014
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| Funded |
| Methodology: |
Direct Observation, Focus Group Discussion, Community Key informant, Household key informant interviews |
| Methodology description: |
The study will be conducted using two complementary approaches, namely a desk review and a field assessment.
•The desk review aims at studying the relevant literature available and collecting data and statistics concerning the numbers of child labourers as well as their main demographic, educational and employment characteristics if available. These assessments will be provided by the ILO. In addition, the study on child labour in agriculture in Jordan conducted by the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) in 2011 will also be provided to the study team by the ILO for reference.
•A key reference document for the study team will be the ILO-UNICEF Guidelines for Rapid Assessments into Child Labour. However, given the urgency of this assessment and the need to finalise the analytical report in short time, it is acknowledged that these guidelines are for reference only to provide support as necessary and relevant.
•The field assessment will involve surveying a representative sample of around 200 households in the identified geographical areas and conducting focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with them.
•Considering the cultural norms among the refugee community, separate discussions and interviews may have to be organised with women in order to capture their specific needs. Separate interviews will also be organised with parents of children who are out of school and engaged in child labour.
•Moreover, interviews and group discussions will be organised with employers, particularly farmers and officials from the Jordan Farmers’ Union; workers’ organisations; relevant government directorates, for example, Ministry of Labour and labour inspectors, Ministry of Education and relevant departments of the Ministry of Agriculture; and host communities in the geographical areas where the refugees are concentrated.
•Interviews and discussions will also be organised with UN agencies and international, national and community-based partners who are involved in supporting Syrian refugees in order to receive other perspectives and learn from practical experiences in working on the ground.
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| Sampling: |
Random
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| Sampling size: |
200 |
| Target population: |
Urban / Rural Population, Host Communities |
| Measurement: |
Community |
The development objective of the assessment is to generate detailed information on the dynamics and characteristics of child labour in the agricultural sector of the Jordan Valley to support relevant policy (national and humanitarian response) adaptation and implementation at national and local levels and the design of effective and sustainable interventions to address causes and consequences.
Specific objectives
The assessment will aim to:
•Determine the nature, magnitude, pattern, distribution, dynamics and causes of child labour in agriculture in relation to the study areas;
•Establish the socio-economic characteristics of the working children and their families;
•Investigate the effects of child labour on the health, safety, education and rights of the working children;
•Investigate specific hazards faced by children engaged in various activities related to work in agriculture;
•Identify the gender differentials of child labour in agriculture;
•Determine to the extent possible the number of children working in agriculture in the Jordan Valley;
•Identify existing initiatives and strategies being undertaken by various organisations aimed at combating child labour in agriculture, as well as policies, legislation and other protective measures addressing child labour, and to make relevant recommendations for addressing child labour in this sector.
Priorities
To increase the number of well-trained child labour inspectors working with MOL.
To implement programs which assist in securing family income - thus enabling children to go back to school.
To ensure psychosocial support for Syrian working children is available as part of a 'get back to school' package.
Needs
GOJ should lay out a comprehensive work plan to be implemented in accordance with the National Framework for Child Labour.
MOE should change the definition of "school drop-out", taking into consideration students who attend school for only a few weeks per year, and students who fail the academic year.
Awareness of child labour should be raised in Jordan through the use of media and community outreach programs.
Main Findings
- 51% of Syrian children and 18% of Jordanian children work. Of these 82% are between 12 and 17 years old, whilst 17.9% are under 12 years of age.
- 30.4% of children (both Syrian and Jordanian) attend school. Around 1/3 of working children also attend school, the large majority of them are Jordanian. 72% of Jordanian working children have basic levels of education, as opposed to 64% of Syrian working children. 77.3% of the parents of working children have "basic or less" levels of education.
- 70% of families surveyed were under the poverty line. Additionally, 81.8% of working children stated that they worked because the family needed the income.
- 22% of working children had been injured at work, 36.9% of injuries needed medical treatment. 55.2% of working children also stated that they were highly exhausted by work.
- 17% of working children said they were treated harshly at work.
Partners
Sectors
Locations
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Jordan
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Irbid Governorate
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Mafraq Governorate
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Balqa Governorate
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Karak Govenorate
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Syrian Arab Republic
