In the back alleys of some cities, in fields far from the eyes of oversight, and inside small, unmarked workshops, children work who should have been in school. They lack contracts and protection, and often their voices are not heard. It is now evident that child labor in 2025 is no longer a marginal phenomenon, but rather a complex rights and economic issue reflecting deeper imbalances in the social protection system and labor market, posing tough choices for society.
Estimates by the International Labor Organization and UNICEF indicate that child labor remains a global challenge, with a clear concentration in the unorganized sectors, hazardous work, and unpaid family activities. In the Arab region, the sensitivity of the issue intensifies due to poverty, unemployment, economic fragility, and the repercussions of ongoing crises, forcing some families to face harsh choices at the expense of a curtailed childhood where notebooks are replaced with work tools, and dreams with burdens unfit for young ages.
In Jordan, despite a legislative framework that criminalizes the worst forms of child labor and defines the age and conditions of work, official reports and national studies reveal that the phenomenon still exists in various forms. For instance, children work in agriculture, construction, artisan workshops, and the services sector, and sometimes in jobs that directly endanger their health and safety. The worst forms of child labor include forced begging, compelled labor, economic exploitation, and child trafficking for labor purposes, which remain the most concealed and challenging to detect.
More alarmingly and concerning is that some of these cases are not seen as violations, but are justified under misleading terms such as “family help” or “early vocational learning.” However, international standards clearly indicate that any labor depriving a child of education, endangering them, or violating their dignity, is a clear violation of their rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and International Labor Organization Conventions (no. 138 and 182) affirm that protecting the child is not just a legal text, but a moral and international commitment that cannot be postponed.
Child labor, in many cases, intersects with human trafficking, especially when children are exploited through intermediaries, moved from their environments for forced labor, or their wages confiscated. Often, these cases remain outside official statistics, necessitating a greater role for investigative journalism in revealing and documenting, with strict adherence to not exposing victims to additional risks or violating their privacy.
Childhood experts assert that addressing child labor cannot solely be a security or legal matter. Criminalization alone, without real economic and educational alternatives, may drive the phenomenon further underground. A comprehensive approach is required, starting with prevention through supporting poor families, improving education quality, and expanding social security networks, and not ending with responses that include effective inspections, rehabilitating children, and holding exploiters accountable.
In this context, civil society organizations—collaborating with governmental entities and international partners—play a pivotal role in monitoring, raising awareness, providing legal assistance, and offering psychological and social support to affected children. Moreover, the importance of responsible media in transforming dry figures into vivid human stories is paramount, influencing public opinion and urging decision-makers to act, not just condemn verbally.
Any professional report on child labor should not merely describe the scene, but delve into the roots and pose several questions: Why does a child go to work? What is the role of the school and why is it absent? How does the unorganized labor market function? And who benefits from societal silence? At the same time, it is bound by a strict ethical charter that protects the identities of children, avoids stigma, and grants victims their dignity before any journalistic scoop.
The year 2026 could be a turning point if awareness is converted into policies, reports into accountability tools, and compassion into sustainable solutions. Child labor is not an inevitable fate but the result of changeable choices. The child who is saved today from forced labor is tomorrow’s citizen, deserving a fair chance at education and life, and a future not built on the expense of their childhood.
