Child domestic labor, a widespread and growing global phenomenon, has trapped at least 10 million children, mostly girls, in hidden forms of exploitation, often involving abuse, health risks and violence, according to a new report issued Friday by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The report, issued on the eve of the third World Day Against Child Labor, examines the plight of children working in sometimes hazardous forms of domestic labor for the first time on a global level.

"Millions of children work night and day outside of their family homes, toiling as domestic child laborers. Nearly all are exploited, exposed to hazardous work and subject to abuse," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "This must stop now."

The report defines child domestic laborers as children in domestic service who are under the legal minimum working age, as well as those above the legal minimum age but under 18 who are in an exploitative situation.

According to the report, all domestic child laborers are at risk because of the very nature of child domestic labor, which is not only widely accepted but often considered a "better" alternative for children from poor families.

It cites numerous country estimates, including studies showing that more than 2 million children are found in domestic labor in South Africa, 559,000 in Brazil, 250,000 in Haiti, 200,000 in Kenya, 264,000 in Pakistan and 100,000 in Sri Lanka.

"They are in a workplace -- even if that workplace is someone else's home -- hidden from public view and labor inspection. The children are consequently at risk not only of exploitation but also of abuse and violence," said June Kane, author of the report.

"It is vital that child domestic labor, so often neglected because the exploitation and abuse take place behind closed doors, receives attention," he said.

The report also says that more girls under 16 work in domestic service than in any other category of labor. In countries like Brazil, Guatemala and Costa Rica, more than 90 percent of children working in domestic service are girls.

According to the report, the status of women and girls, family and child poverty, ignorance of the risks of domestic service, the increasing number of AIDS orphans and the persistence of traditional hierarchies all contribute to pushing children into domestic labor.

"Child domestic labor is a waste of human talent and potential. With the help of constructive and sustainable solutions from the ILO technical cooperation program, governments, employers and workers worldwide stand ready to put an end to this abuse," said Frans Roselaers, director of the ILO International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC).

June 12 marks the third World Day Against Child Labor. The ILO launched the World Day in 2002 as a means of raising the visibility of the problem and highlighting the global movement to eliminate child labor, particularly its worst forms.

(China Daily June 12, 2004)