STOPPING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILD DOMESTIC WORKERS THROUGH REGULATION AND EDUCATION

Several millions of children and youth in Africa are involved in domestic work, an occupation that exposes many of them to slavery-like conditions, multiple forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence and deprivation of education.

Both child and adult domestic workers remain largely “invisible”, neglected by society and by national legislations and government programs, despite growing attention in the past few years in relation to the International Labour Organisation’s promotion of the Decent Work agenda.

Since 2010, the IDAY network has been campaigning for the protection, legal recognition and training of child and adult

domestic workers in Eastern Africa and the DRC. Building on the long-standing expertise of local organisations on this issue, IDAY and its partners are convinced that legal recognition of domestic work and the provision of education opportunities are paramount to eliminating child domestic labor and promoting domestic workers’ rights.

With this 3-year regional project, IDAY and 14 partners in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda are promoting policies and mechanisms to prevent and address abuse of children, foster adequate educational opportunities and ensure decent working conditions for all domestic workers.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE KEY FIGURES

Countries:- Burundi- DRC- Kenya- Rwanda- Uganda

Rosalie Colfs ©

All children have the right to access quality basic education. IDAY exists because too many African children and youth are still deprived of it.

www.iday.org

There are an estimated 8,5 million domestic workers in these countries = 1 domestic worker per

household

1/3 domestic workers are under the legal age of work!

5 national surveys were conducted and 18,000 domestic workers and

employers interviewed

IDAY-International aisbl / 19, rue des Jambes - 1420 Braine-l’Alleud - Belgium / T.: +32 (0)2 385 44 13 E. : info@iday.org / IBAN: BE 93 5230 8026 6767 - BIC: TRIOBEBB (TRIODOS) / www.iday.org

80 million children and youth in Africa are still deprived of quality basic

education.

IDAY NETWORK450 members organisations• 19 African coalitions • 5 European coalitionsCoordinated by IDAY-International aisbl (headquarters in Belgium)

IDAY directly contributes to the schooling of 260,000 children and

youth in Africa (2014 census).

IDAY is an international civil society network committed to achieving quality basic education for all children and

youth in Africa, with a particular focus on vulnerable and marginalised children.

- 5 national baseline surveys on domestic work have been conducted. More than 18.000 domestic workers and employers interviewed. 1/3 of domestic workers are under the legal age of work! Hundreds of them are young children. - The assessment of the legal and policy frameworks of these countries confirm that there are big gaps in terms of protection for domestic workers in general, and children in this profession in particular. Education policies also fail to accommodate this public. - Sensitization activities have been carried out at local and national levels to raise public awareness on international conventions and national laws on the child rights, explain how this form of work can violate the rights of the child, point out the importance of education and participation of parents and communities at large to protect their children and ensure their access to school. - In all participating countries, the governments are paying

increasing attention to the issue of domestic workers. Here are a few examples: - In Kenya, a roadmap on child domestic work was drafted in 2014 that recommends a series of actions in line with this project. - The Employment legislations in Kenya and Uganda are under review, with pressure being put for the inclusion of provisions on domestic work as well as for a better protection of children involved in this area of work. - The domestic workers’ minimum salary was raised in Kenya and the Government is considering ratifying the ILO 189 Convention - In Burundi, the International Day Against Child Labor was dedicated to child domestic workers 2 years in a row. - Discussions are ongoing in Rwanda between the Government and social partners to include domestic work in the labor laws and to set a minimum wage for this profession.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND RESULTS SO FAR

ABOUT THE PARTNERSThis regional project has been designed and is implemented in partnership between:

- IDAY-International - DRC: Comité d’Appui aux Travail Social de Rue (CATSR), Women and Children Protection (WCP), IDAY-DRC, IDAY-Kivu/DRC, General Secretariat for Youth, Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture and Arts, - Rwanda: Comité des Ligues et Associations de Défense des Droits de l’Homme (CLADHO), Centrale des Syndicats de Travailleurs du Rwanda (CESTRAR), National Commission for Children, - Burundi: Terre des Hommes, Direction Générale du Travail et du Perfectionnement Professionnel, IDAY-Burundi - Kenya: Partners in Literacy Ministry (PALM), Comitato Europeo per la Formazione e l’Agricoltura (CEFA), IDAY-Kenya, Directorate for Adult and Continuing Education, Ministry of Education - Uganda: Uganda Children Center (UCC), ANPPCAN, IDAY-Uganda, National Council for Children (NCC)