Stories about Bangladesh
CLARISSA’s work in Bangladesh focuses on urban neighbourhoods in and near Dhaka where there is a concentration of children working in the worst forms of child labour, including in the leather sector.
Hazardous child labour is common in small enterprises in the informal economy that supply increasingly complex, multi-tiered supply chains in domestic, regional and global markets. The leather sector is one of the most profitable sectors in Bangladesh and is a major contributor to the country’s economy. However, this billion-dollar industry relies on the informal economy and its use of cheap labour, including children living and migrating into rapidly evolving informal settlements.
CLARISSA has worked with children and businesses to understand how children have become critical actors in the leather supply chain system and important economic contributors to their households. On these pages you will be able to immerse yourself in what it is like to be a working child in the leather sector in Bangladesh. In stories about children’s days, you can accompany the children as they move from home to work to home again, learning about the hazards they negotiate, frequently over very long working days. In stories about businesses, you can go inside the informal enterprises where children work processing leather. In stories about neighbourhoods you can experience the sights and sounds of the streets and buildings where children working in the leather supply chain system live. In stories about children’s lives, you can join the children as they reflect on why and how they started working in the worst forms of child labour.
Download Reports
