Hidden and Forgotten: Children trafficked for domestic work in Uganda

The recruitment of children from rural areas to work as domestic workers in urban areas is a practice that has gone unhindered for many years. In many communities in Africa, and in Uganda in particular, the placement of children in the homes of wealthier relatives or friends to perform domestic work in exchange for education and other benefits is considered a survival strategy. They hardly acknowledge that using children to undertake domestic activities, which at times may be hazardous to their health and education, amounts to exploitation of children. This is worsened by the fact that this practice co-exists with other malicious practices, including the trafficking of children which violate their most basic and fundamental rights. This dissertation argues that neither international human rights law, nor the Ugandan law have dealt with the question of exploitation of children adequately. It argues for a holistic and child-centred approach that values the full range of children’s rights and does not seek only to eliminate child labour, but understand the reasons why children work, recognise their rights as workers and provide mechanisms for their protection.