Lagos: The Lagos State Government has initiated legislative measures to address child exploitation in domestic labour, emphasizing that such exploitation should be classified as domestic violence. The Executive Secretary of Lagos State Law Reform, Mrs. Oluyemisi Ogunlola, highlighted this stance during the 2025 World Day Against Child Labour event held in Ikeja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the event, themed 'Ending Child Exploitation and Upholding Dignity: A Case Study of Exploitative Child Domestic Work in Lagos State', was organized by the Devatop Centre for Africa Development and the Talkam. In her keynote address, Ogunlola asserted that exploitative child domestic work constitutes domestic violence and must be addressed legally and socially as such.
Ogunlola explained that children, often recruited from rural areas within and outside Lagos State, are subjected to harsh, unsafe, and exploitative conditions. These children are deprived of education, exposed to physical and sexual violence, and stripped of the basic dignity every child deserves. She highlighted the psychological trauma caused by isolation, neglect, and abuse, which leaves enduring emotional scars and often results in injuries or illnesses from hazardous tasks.
Efforts have been made by the state government to combat this issue, she noted. The Domestic Staff Service Providers (Registration) Law, 2019, mandates the registration of domestic service providers to regulate recruitment into domestic work, requiring employers to engage only registered providers to prevent child trafficking. Additionally, the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) is dedicated to combating all forms of domestic and sexual violence, offering legal, medical, and psychological support to victims, managing temporary shelters, and conducting public awareness campaigns.
Ogunlola further mentioned that the Lagos State Child Rights Law (2007) prohibits all forms of child exploitation, ensuring children's rights to education, protection from abuse, and development. However, she acknowledged that implementation gaps persist, and the DSPR and DSVA laws must be fully operationalized through inter-agency cooperation.
She pointed out the cultural acceptance of child domestic labour as a way to 'help poor families' and the weak reporting systems at the community level. Ogunlola emphasized the need for stronger collaboration between relevant government agencies, including the DSVA, Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Office of the Public Defender, and Lagos State Ministry of Justice.
In his welcome address, Mr. Bemshima Abako, Head of Resource Mobilisation at Devatop, urged the Federal Government to address child labour as a form of domestic violence. He called for broader public education on domestic violence to include child domestic servitude as a recognized form of abuse requiring urgent intervention. Abako stressed the necessity for stronger partnerships among government, non-governmental organisations, faith institutions, and the private sector to prosecute abusers and traffickers, sending a clear message that exploitation will no longer be tolerated. He concluded by stating the importance of dismantling the culture of silence surrounding domestic exploitation to protect childhood from being sacrificed for convenience or poverty.