ABSTRACT

Child domestic work (CDW) is often depicted as a poverty-induced and ignorance-manufactured problem requiring urgent attention. Thus, the dominant policies in this regard have often advocated addressing the factors pushing children into domestic service while little or nothing is done about factors beyond the sending households or the structures within which the work is done. This article examines factors influencing employers’ choices, and the context in which child domestic work occurs in South-West Nigeria to highlight the shortcomings of the existing explanations and strategies of addressing child domestic work. The paper contends that individual choices in child domestic work are predicated on an informal support system that thrives in the context of deficiencies in infrastructures and state welfare provision. It concludes by calling for appropriate policies to address these areas.

摘要

儿童家务工作 (CDW) 通常被描述为需要紧急关注的由贫困引起和无知制造的问题。因此，这方面的主导政策往往主张解决促使儿童从事家政服务的因素，而对派遣家庭或完成工作的结构之外的因素几乎没有做或根本没有做。本文研究了影响雇主选择的因素，以及尼日利亚西南部儿童家政工作的背景，以突出解决儿童家政工作的现有解释和策略的缺陷。该论文认为，在基础设施和国家福利供应不足的情况下，个人对儿童家务工作的选择取决于非正式的支持系统。