I agree children shouldn’t have to work. My problem is that the discourse dismisses the agency of children and teenagers, and the solutions given average out to ‘prevent them from working’. I see that as an attack on people under the system because it does nothing to solve the problem. I would not have been able to escape my situation without the freedom to seek employment. I didn’t have that full freedom, and ultimately did a lot of work that was illegal.
I agree children shouldn’t have to work. My problem is that the discourse dismisses the agency of children and teenagers, and the solutions given average out to ‘prevent them from working’. I see that as an attack on people under the system because it does nothing to solve the problem. I would not have been able to escape my situation without the freedom to seek employment. I didn’t have that full freedom, and ultimately did a lot of work that was illegal.