Calls for stronger child labour laws and enforcement in US, as violations soar in recent months

Experts such as Dr Annie Smith, Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas and Director of the Civil Litigation and Advocacy Clinic, fear there is no easy fix to this situation.

“If you’re serious about addressing it, whether it’s human trafficking or child labour exploitation, you have to look at root causes (which are) the vulnerabilities experienced by those workers, and what’s making them vulnerable to that type of abuse,” Prof Smith explained.

“It’s really going to deeper policy approaches, foreign policy, immigration policy, those sort of deeper issues that seem removed from child labour but are actually directly related to it.”

While such a change will take time, the message remains clear and urgent for those who have suffered loss. 

“Kids are going to get lost in the mix. I see sweatshops in our future, and it disgusts me, it really does. If anything is important to us, it’s got to be our future, it’s got to be our kids,” said Mrs Bostwick.