Mehta M N, Prabhu S V, Mistry H N
Child Abuse Negl. 1985;9(1):107-11. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(85)90098-5.
Of the world's largest child labor force in India, Bombay has over 30,000 working children, most of them migrants. In a prospective study of 73 working children from a part of Dharavi, the biggest slum in Asia, 68% were working as hotel boys; 22% had started working before their 10th birthday, a large number doing so to increase the family income, but earning less than Rs. 100 ($11) per month. Forty percent worked more than 12 hours a day and only 16% continued schooling. Two-thirds depended entirely on their employers for food which was adequate and no child in the study was malnourished. Overall incidence of anemia and vitamin deficiency was 10% each. Only 7% had ailments related to their occupation. Because this was a cross-sectional study no conclusions can be drawn regarding long term and residual effects. Preventing children from working is likely to make worse their own as well as their families' problems unless substitute sources of income or welfare are available. Legal protection and other services near their working places are essential for those who have to work.
在印度这个拥有全球最大童工劳动力群体的国家，孟买有超过3万名童工，其中大多数是移民。在一项针对亚洲最大贫民窟达拉维一部分地区的73名童工的前瞻性研究中，68%的人从事酒店男佣工作；22%的人在10岁之前就开始工作，很多人这样做是为了增加家庭收入，但每月收入不到100卢比（11美元）。40%的人每天工作超过12小时，只有16%的人继续上学。三分之二的人完全依赖雇主提供足够的食物，研究中的孩子没有营养不良的情况。贫血和维生素缺乏的总体发生率均为10%。只有7%的人有与职业相关的疾病。由于这是一项横断面研究，无法就长期和残留影响得出结论。除非有替代收入来源或福利，否则阻止儿童工作可能会使他们自己以及家庭的问题变得更糟。对于那些不得不工作的人来说，在其工作场所附近提供法律保护和其他服务至关重要。
