A Will of Their Own: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Working Children

Children's work is on the increase in all parts of the world, including the affluent countries of Europe and North America, and is closely linked with the processes of globalization. It can take on widely differing forms and can harm children, but also benefit them. This book's approach is distinctive: it endeavors to understand working children, and their ways of living and acting, from their own perspective. It is interested in the children's own experiences and hopes, especially their attempts to speak out in public and to fight together against exploitation and discrimination. It shows that children frequently see and evaluate their work differently from adults, and that measures directed against children's work are not always in the interests of the children. It argues for a new, subject-oriented approach in dealing with children's work, which takes account of socio-cultural contexts, both in theory and practice.