Only recently have campaigners against child labour begun to focus their attention on what is probably the largest group of child workers in the world: child domestics. In industrialized countries and in some emerging economies, there has been a steady decline in child domestic work as more children attend school and aim for a ‘modern life’ and qualified employment. In other parts of the world, the forces of demand and supply that propel women and children into menial occupations seem to be leading in the opposite direction. This is especially so in societies where the opportunity for employment is limited, labour cheap, poverty
widespread, the sense of social hierarchy strong, and human energy rather than the labour-saving appliance still the linchpin of household management.