Child workers in South East Asia: Exploitative trafficking or migratory self-improvement?
In recent years there has been a substantial increase in disillusioned children leaving home independently and migrating to another country in search of work. A new paper published in Children’s Geographies explores the complex issues surrounding child migration in Southeast Asia, asking whether these children are exploited victims of trafficking, or if they genuinely seek to improve their ‘lot in life’? The term ‘child worker’ conjures imagery of an oppressed, vulnerable individual, trafficked or forced by those seeking to exploit them. Though undoubtedly true in many cases, this notion