Abuse Faced by Child Labourers: Novel Territory in Workplace Bullying

Maltreatment of child labourers in Bangladesh: Prevalence and characteristics of perpetrators

“…They are also neglected through failure to provided them with food, respite, protection from illness and safety within the workplace. These children are also subjected to financial exploitation, such as low wages, withholding wages, forced to work unpaid overtime or there are delays in payment, which have been observed in some previous studies as well [ 16 , 20 , 22 , 54 ].…”

“…Generally, physical maltreatment in the workplace consists of hitting, beating, burning, or stabbing, while psychological abuse usually takes the form of bullying or scolding, and neglect includes the denial of rights at work [ 2 , [19] , [20] , [21] ]. However, in many studies, the extent of abuse of child labourers is underestimated [ 16 , 22 ]. A study conducted by Pandey and colleagues estimated that the highest proportion of child labourers (72.73%) are physically maltreated in India [ 15 ], and another study shows that more than 77% of working children in Iran are psychologically abused [ 23 ].…”

“…The study carried out by Hadi [ 16 ], however, revealed that a substantial number of child labourers in Bangladesh were physically and financially exploited. Financial exploitation is mentioned in many studies as a concern [ 16 , 22 , 24 ]. It is evident that child labourers receive very meagre wages and experience delays in payment [ 7 , 16 ], while parents confiscate the earnings of their children [ 24 ].…”

“…A comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of perpetrators would assist in efforts to stop maltreatment at its source [ 27 , 28 ]. While it is assumed that victimized children are mostly maltreated by their immediate family members, where they spend most of their time [ 29 ], several studies have shown that employers and co-workers often also maltreat child workers [ 7 , 22 ]. Child labourers in the informal sectors in Bangladesh are also believed to be grossly maltreated by their employers [ 18 ].…”

“…One of the core cultural influences is corporal punishment used by parents and others to regulate children's behaviour [ 30 ]. The existing research identifies the perpetrators' past history of abuse, psychological disorders, cognitive and behavioral problems, and alcohol and drug abuse characteristics as core contributing factors to explain why perpetrators abuse child labourers [ 7 , [32] , [33] , [34] ], although studies in the South Asian regions only highlight the limited economic resources and unemployment status of the caregivers as a factor [ 16 , 22 ].…”