Child Labor Abuses

The plight of the 13-year-old child maid in India, locked up in her employers’ home and treated like a slave, is not unique to India (“Maid’s Cries Cast Light on Child Labor in India,” front page, April 5).

The International Labor Organization estimates that nearly 30 percent of the 50 million to 100 million domestic workers worldwide are children. The Indian girl’s employers dispute her claims of abuse, but Human Rights Watch has documented many such cases.

In countries like Indonesia, Morocco and Guinea, we have found girls working 12 or more hours a day, seven days a week, for a fraction of the minimum wage — if they are paid at all. Many are subjected to physical and sexual violence, and few ever attend school.

A groundbreaking new international treaty offers some hope for addressing these abuses. The I.L.O. Domestic Workers Convention, adopted last year, prohibits domestic work by young children and entitles domestic workers to days off, minimum-wage coverage, limits to hours of work, and other rights that most workers take for granted.

Already more than a dozen governments are reforming national laws to strengthen protections for domestic workers. Implementation of the new convention could improve the lives of millions of women and girls.