Our Impact

Since 2013, we’ve taken concrete steps towards addressing the worst forms of child labour. We believe in a world where no child should ever be for sale.

young girl walks through an alley with a World Vision backpack

Canadians are stepping up.

Since 2013, thousands of Canadians have spoken out about child labour. From signing petitions, urging corporations to look at their supply chains and learning to shop ethically – together, we’re making inroads.

More than 10,000 letters were written to the Government of Canada’s Subcommittee of International Human Rights. To date, more than 158,000 Canadians have signed our petition to the government pushing for Supply Chain Transparency legislation.

In the 2021 Federal Election, all three major political parties in Canada committed to some form of corporate transparency legislation. This is a result of years of advocacy from Canadians coast to coast to coast.

More than 8,000 people took our Conscious Consumer Challenge, working to change their shopping habits. The Challenge was created to help reduce child labour by empowering Canadians to make ethical consumer choices.

an older boy stands behind a younger child with arms protecting, while standing inside a busStanding up for the world’s children.

Children are not commodities to be traded or forced to serve others. They are human beings. They are our future. In Canada, we do everything to protect our children – but millions of boys and girls around the world don’t have that safety. We know this problem can be solved. And being part of the solution is what we do.

World Vision champion’s the rights of millions of children worldwide suffering in the worst forms of child labour. We published our findings on Canadian links to child and forced labour, showing imports of “risky goods” totalled $34 billion in 2016. Since then, it has risen to $43 billion in 2020. We are also calling for supply chain legislation and to protect children from exploitation.
                                                                                                                                    
Around the world, World Vision offered evening classes for child labourers in Bangladesh, Mexico, Cambodia, and more. And in the Philippines, we achieved a 64% reduction in child labour in sugarcane farming across 11 provinces. We’re on the front lines of human trafficking in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, helping children to stay safe and empower them to advocate for improved safety measures.

Around the world, we help thousands of families learn about the rights of children, as well as ways to promote child protection and encourage children’s participation in family and community decision-making.

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a young child is seen smiling while sitting on a bed in his homeThere’s good news. We’re already turning the tide.

We know from our own lives that it’s the small wins along the way that help us make progress against life’s big challenges. The same is true for the problem of child labour. Things are moving in the right direction – but there’s still work to do.
 
The number of children working in child labour globally fell by 16 million during the period from 2012 to 2016. Although COVID-19 has reversed that trend, we know that improvement is possible.
In 2020, around 70% Canadians consider themselves to be conscious shoppers, voting with their wallets to not support harm or dishonesty.
We are working to mobilize support to see supply chain transparency legislation realized in Canada – a big step forward in the global movement to address child labour.


 

We all have a part to play.
Join the movement to eliminate the worst forms of child labour.


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