Background: The 2020 global estimates on child labour saw an increase of child labour globally for the first time in 20 years – from 152 million to 160 million, and an estimated increase of child labour at around another 10 million by the end of 2022 because of the pandemic unless social protection systems would break down. Save the Children has been a witness to this development and committed to a pledge to the International Year on the Elimination of Child Labour in 2021 to accelerate SC efforts in tackling child labour globally. The Safe Back 2 School Global Goal Team, with the Child Labour Task Team, set out to develop different levels of rapid assessments with interested country offices to better enable Save the Children and partners to capture child labour in selected contexts, to inform policy and approaches to enhance safe returns back to schools for more children engaged in or at risk of child labour. The rapid assessment in South Sudan followed other commissioned assessments in Guatemala and Vietnam.
Methods: The study relied on qualitative data collection. Household questionnaires were administered to a sample group of respondents in Maban refugee camps and the surrounding host communities. The data was collected in November 2022
Key findings
i. Children above 13 are likely to work outside home especially boys. Girls likely to do work inside home.
ii. Children under 10 less likely to work both inside and outside home.
iii. Raising income for the Household is a common reason for child labour.
iv. Boys are mostly engaged in industrial work such construction, activities that poses risks of being harmful child labour.
v. Unaffordable school fees is one of the key reasons why children are not attending school – such as lack of school supplies and lack of uniform – but also lack of food, basic necessities in the household are said to be reasons for why children need to engage in child labour, keeping them out of school.
vi. COVID 19, Flooding and Conflict equally increased child labour according to communities.
vii. Girls engaged in Sex work, exposed to sexual violence and exploitation due to child labour and for survival.
viii. Boys at risk of physical violence including mob justice, beatings getting burned.