Institute of Child Health, University College London, 30 Guilford St, London, UK.
Arch Dis Child. 2012 Sep;97(9):773-8. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2012-301816. Epub 2012 Jun 9.
The aim of the study was to explore the effects of domestic employment on the well-being of child domestic workers (CDWs) in India and the Philippines. A questionnaire was administered to 700 CDWs and 700 school-attending controls in the two countries. In India, 36% of CDWs started work before age 12, 48% worked because of poverty or to repay loans, 46% worked >10 h per day, and 31% were physically punished by employers. Filipino CDWs were mainly migrants from rural areas, 47% were working to continue their studies and 87% were attending school, compared with 35% of Indians. In India, 67% of CDWs and 25% of controls scored in the lowest tertile (p<0.001) compared with 36% and 30%, respectively, in the Philippines (p=02). Key significant correlates of low psychosocial scores were non-attendance at school, long working hours, physical punishment, limited support networks and poor health. This study shows that it is not domestic work that is intrinsically harmful, but rather the circumstances and conditions of work, which could be improved through pragmatic regulatory measures.
本研究旨在探讨家庭佣工对印度和菲律宾儿童家庭佣工（CDW）福祉的影响。对两国的 700 名 CDW 和 700 名在校对照者进行了问卷调查。在印度，36%的 CDW 在 12 岁之前开始工作，48%工作是因为贫困或偿还贷款，46%每天工作超过 10 小时，31%受到雇主的体罚。菲律宾的 CDW 主要是农村地区的移民，47%工作是为了继续学业，87%在校上学，而印度的这一比例为 35%。在印度，67%的 CDW 和 25%的对照组得分处于最低三分位（p<0.001），而菲律宾的这一比例分别为 36%和 30%（p=0.02）。社会心理评分较低的主要显著相关因素是不上学、工作时间长、体罚、支持网络有限和健康状况不佳。本研究表明，不是家庭佣工本身有害，而是工作的环境和条件，通过切实可行的监管措施可以得到改善。
