Around the world, based on ILO data, approximately 200–250 million children work. Many of them work in difficult, harmful conditions, under duress or simply because it is impossible otherwise. As for Russia, there are no exact data on this matter, although the approximate figure is 6 million. Such an act falls under the category of crimes against personal freedom (as well as deprivation of will, human trafficking, etc.)
Features of the crime
In theory, children in Russia are protected from violence, exploitation and other illegal activities. Almost always, the punishment for a crime is more severe if the victim is a minor.
However, information on child exploitation is literally scattered across a variety of codes. And violators do not always receive any significant punishment.
Legal norms
International conventions
There is an important international document that has been ratified by one and a half hundred countries. This is the 1989 Convention on the Rights of Children (adopted by the UN General Assembly), including the child’s right to protection from exploitation.
Several articles at once (for example, 19, 32) speak of the prohibition of child exploitation. States parties are required to take measures to protect children, provide adequate supervision, and provide rehabilitation for victims of exploitation.
Russian Federation
The laws of Russia include several key norms:
- Article 37 of the Constitution speaks of freedom of labor and the inadmissibility of coercion in this area. Work must take place in proper conditions, including decent pay.
- Federal Law No. 124-FZ (adopted in 1998) guarantees child workers benefits, vacations and reduced working hours. This is stated in Article 11.
- Law No. 273-FZ, which talks about education in the Russian Federation, speaks of the inadmissibility of involving a child in work outside the program of an educational institution (clause 4 of Article 34).
- Many articles of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation talk about the specifics of hiring minors, remuneration for their labor and other nuances.
Also, recently there has been talk about introducing amendments to the articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with the aim of resolving the problem of exploitation of child labor. In theory, everything is very good. In practice the situation is completely different.
Corpus delicti
There is no specific article in the Criminal Code that would specifically address the exploitation of children. Accordingly, it is impossible to talk about the elements of the crime.
In some cases, qualification under Article 127.1 is possible if the exploitation is accompanied by kidnapping. The note to this article talks about slave labor or services, bondage, and various sexual coercions (more on this later).
Types and forms of exploitation of child labor in Russia
The most common situation is entrusting some work to children under sixteen years of age. Children deliver advertising materials to apartment mailboxes and hand out leaflets on the streets.
Most often, this lasts for long hours, is accompanied by many kilometers of walking, and is sometimes paid for in meager amounts of money. But deception cannot be ruled out when children are simply denied payment under various pretexts.
What else do children do? They help parents trade, clean areas and premises.
Here it is sometimes difficult to find the rather fine line between necessary work in the family and real exploitation. Moreover, many assess this situation positively. Few people think that children sometimes simply do not have time to do homework, study, not to mention play.
We can also talk about a certain type of exploitation of child labor at school, when children are forced to clean its territory and move things from one office to another.
Next, we will talk about how crimes related to child labor or child exploitation are investigated.
About night-time types of exploitation of child labor, see the following video:
Punishment for exploitation of child labor
Childhood is a time that should be devoted to learning and education, games and walks. Unfortunately, in many countries of the world, including Russia, many children have to work at an early age.
Labor activity for teenagers is strictly limited by age. Children grow up and cannot bear heavy physical activity. All this can negatively affect their health in the future.
Illegal child labor has a name - exploitation of child labor. Art. There is no Criminal Code of the Russian Federation regulating this type of violation at all, which complicates the implementation of control over exploiters.
In this article we will tell you what exploitation of child labor is and what restrictions there are on the work of teenagers in our country.
Investigation methodology
The ILO notes: the problem of child labor in Russia is often ignored, assessed incorrectly and therefore not addressed. Often the children's parents are to blame for this.
When a daughter or son grows up in a family, she (he) is often encouraged to get a job/part-time job. If the case is found, the child literally becomes a hero.
However, many parents do not take any action if their children are deceived by unscrupulous employers. Some people make excuses with common words like “this is how life is for us,” while others are literally forced to survive. Some people simply don’t want to get involved and don’t know how to properly file a complaint. There are also those who are deeply indifferent to their children.
Crimes are discussed only in the most serious cases. For example, when parents themselves sell their children “for organs” or to underground brothels/pornographic film studios.
Punishment for violating children's work rules
The child himself, who was striving for quick employment, will not bear any responsibility, nor will his parents who allowed illegal labor.
Only the employer will be held responsible in such a situation. So, if an employer does not officially register employment relations with teenagers or makes errors in this registration, a penalty may be applied to him.
Namely:
Such measures are prescribed in Art. 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and are punished for violations of labor and labor protection legislation.
For each individual violation of the rules of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, punishment is provided in accordance with Art. 4.4 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Employers are often not afraid to violate the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and exploit child labor by deceiving teenagers and not paying them wages. Few of them will complain about the behavior of the company in which they worked.
Acts of a sexual nature
Article 34 of the International Children's Convention states that the child must be protected from abuse or exploitation of a sexual nature. This means a ban on prostitution, pornography, and sexual inducement/coercion.
- In the case of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, the norms of the articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are somewhat stricter. The already mentioned Article 127.1 (considered separately) is indicative in this regard.
- If a child is forced into prostitution, this is already Article 240 of the Criminal Code. The prison term can range from three to eight years. Plus restriction of freedom (one to two years) and a possible ban on holding certain positions/certain types of activities (within fifteen years).
- Finally, 242.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation talks about the production of pornographic materials with the involvement of minors. Such a crime is recognized as especially qualified if children under fourteen years of age are harmed.
Depending on the severity of the crime, punishment can result in imprisonment (maximum 10 years), restriction of freedom for up to two years and prohibition from holding certain positions or performing certain activities for up to fifteen years.
It is obvious that in the area of child exploitation, Russian legislation still requires the development of new standards and adjustments to existing ones. Only in this case will each child be truly and adequately protected.
Very informative and complete material on the issue of the crime of sexual exploitation of children is discussed in the following video:
Responsibility for violation
Art. 6.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for sanctions for legal entities for creating and encouraging conditions under which the exploitation of children is possible. This could be financing, the provision of premises or transport, or the provision of services that facilitate operation. For this offense, they can be fined from 1 to 5 million rubles or the organization’s activities can be suspended for 3 months.
Article 127.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes punishment for the use of slave labor of minors. The perpetrator is sentenced to up to 5 years of forced labor or up to 10 years of imprisonment. As an additional sanction, a ban on the right to hold a managerial position for up to 15 years may be applied.
Employers who formally employ minors deserve respect because they help teenagers gain useful job skills and become more responsible.
Source
Responsibility for violation
Article for insulting minor children by an adult or peer Art. 6.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for sanctions for legal entities for creating and encouraging conditions under which the exploitation of children is possible. This could be financing, the provision of premises or transport, or the provision of services that facilitate operation. For this offense, they can be fined from 1 to 5 million rubles or the organization’s activities can be suspended for 3 months.
Article 127.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes punishment for the use of slave labor of minors. The perpetrator is sentenced to up to 5 years of forced labor or up to 10 years of imprisonment. As an additional sanction, a ban on the right to hold a managerial position for up to 15 years may be applied.
Child exploitation is actually a serious crime, and not cleaning the floors at school after school, as many people think.
Employers who formally employ minors deserve respect because they help teenagers gain useful job skills and become more responsible.
Exploitation of child labor article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation punishment
The legislation of the Russian Federation does not prohibit teenagers from working. Requirements for working conditions for minors are specified in the Labor Code, but it should be remembered that the exploitation of child labor is prohibited. This means that no one has the right to force a teenager to work unless he himself expresses such a desire. Most employers are not ready to hire minors. This happens due to the large number of restrictions on their employment and the increased attention of regulatory authorities to this issue.
In accordance with the Law on the Rights of the Child No. 124-FZ, exploitation of children is considered to be slave labor, servitude of minors, and their involvement in prostitution. But such actions belong more to the sphere of crime. Employers should know the specifics of hiring, provide teenagers with the necessary working conditions and comply with them.
Article 150. Exploitation of children
1. Exploitation of children under the age at which employment is permitted by law, by using their labor for the purpose of profit, is punishable by arrest for a term of up to six months or
restriction of freedom for a term of up to three years, with deprivation
the right to hold certain positions or activities
certain activities for a period of up to three years.
health, physical development or educational level of the child, or associated with the use
child labor in hazardous production, is punishable by imprisonment for a term of two to
five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for
1. The object of this crime is the health, physical development, educational level of the child, etc.
The child is the subject of the crime and at the same time the victim.
2. The objective side of this crime is expressed in the exploitation of children who have not reached the age at which employment is permitted by law.
Child exploitation is the use of child labor in any type of work for the purpose of obtaining
3. The subjective side of this crime is expressed in the form of direct intent. The person is aware that he is exploiting a child for profit and wants to
4. The subject of a crime can be a sane person who has reached the age of 16.
5. The qualifying features of this crime under Part 2 are:
- exploitation of several children;
— causing significant harm to the health, physical development or educational level of a child;
- exploitation of children using child
labor in hazardous production.
Multiple child exploitation is the illegal use of the labor of two or more children.
Significant harm to the health, physical development or educational level of a child should be understood as the child receiving varying degrees of severity.
bodily injuries, various chronic diseases, abnormal physical development of the child and deviations in the educational level of the child resulting from the illegal exploitation of child labor7^
The use of child labor in hazardous production should be understood as child labor in industries that are classified by the legislator as hazardous.
Child labor – is it possible?
Many adults believe that a child should be taught to work from an early age, which will allow him to further become an independent and self-sufficient person. In the villages, both old and young work from dawn to dusk, since it is quite common to find a child there doing chores.
It is quite different when child labor is used for commercial purposes. At the same time, the use of child labor for the purpose of earning money has already become a problem on a global scale. Especially when it comes to remote regions and underdeveloped countries.
Child labor: legal or illegal
Child labor in itself is not illegal. She is under special protection from the state, because teenagers have a fragile psyche, do not have sufficient physical strength, and are subject to increased influence from others. This age is also associated with receiving education.
Violations of legislation on the work of minors are found everywhere, but responsibility for such acts is scattered across various legal acts. There is also no special article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the use of child labor.
Statistics. Forms of exploitation
There are different forms of child labor exploitation. These may include:
