Mapping of Children Engaged in the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Supply Chain of the Leather Industry in Bangladesh

Abstract

This mapping of children in the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) in the leather sector of Bangladesh was conducted in May–August 2020. WFCL are not always obvious and, without better understanding of where, why and how it is happening, the exploitation and abuse of children in the workforce in Bangladesh will continue. This mapping provides a detailed assessment of where children are working in the leather supply chain in Bangladesh, what they are doing, how they came to be doing it and what their conditions of work and experiences are.

Furthermore, and critically, it evidences the children’s perceptions of themselves and others as child labourers – the jobs and areas of the sector that they feel comprise WFCL, and the jobs they feel are the most difficult or dangerous to do and that children should not have to do.