Combatting child labour - Listen to what the children say

This article summarizes some features of the Radda Barnen (Swedish Save the Children) study 'Children's Perspectives on their Working Lives'. The case is made for working children's participation in the process of combatting child labour. Their participation will help ensure that interventions designed to eliminate exploitative and hazardous child labour are context appropriate, locally sustainable and child centred. This study is a contribution to the process. A specially designed Children's Perspectives Protocol guided group activities with over 300 children in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Central America. This article summarizes selected issues addressed by the study, including children's occupational preferences and their views on work and school.