Despite advances in technology and medicine, safety for working adolescents still challenges 21st century Americans. One would think that by now, in the beginning of the new millennium, America would have cured this disease of child labor that infects its younger population. Yet, injuries still maim and kill Americas working youth. Politicians speak out against child obesity, and both celebrities and ordinary citizens criticize school violence, especially after a Columbine or Virginia Tech massacre. Human rights activists picket clothing lines that depend upon the work of underpaid children in developing countries, and Congress holds hearings to ensure that American consumers do not buy goods produced by these exploited children. However, health care providers, legislators, and the general public often relegate child labor to the back burner. Moreover, many diminish the role of child labor in the United States by viewing child labor as a social, economic, and political problem limited to developing countries. The employment of children in the work force should be in the forefront of domestic health policy because of its social and economic significance to public health. Even though current societal awareness indicates some understanding of the health risks of adolescent workers, statistics continue to show a bleak picture of preventable workplace injuries and fatalities of this vulnerable population.
This paper defines child or youth as any individual 17 or younger who engages in some kind of work. In discussing youth employment, the paper does more than just describe child labor laws; it also focuses on the unique traits of this young population and the trends that characterize its employment. This gives an identity to the faceless young men and women who deal with the risks of the industrial and agricultural work places. Once presenting the current statistics on injuries and fatalities incurred by youth in both the industrial and agricultural sectors, the paper compares the similarities and differences in the major industries between youth and adult workers. It then moves into the legal arena, describing what has been done and what still needs to happen to combat child labor problems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-07092007-081901 |
| Date | 25 September 2007 |
| Creators | Mansour, Huwaida El-Hillal |
| Contributors | Thomas Songer, PhD, Jay Harper, MD, MPH, Joseph Schwerha, MD, MPH |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-07092007-081901/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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