Are Child Domestic Workers Key Ingredients in Employers’ Households? Employers’ Perceptions Towards Child Domestic Workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

This study explored employers’ perceptionstowards child domestic workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Datafrom 15 employerswas gathered through key informant interviews and field observationsand analysed thematically between August 2021 and February2022. The findings indicate that child domestic workers (15–18 years old) are culturally acceptable in the name of work socialisation, areoften perceived and treated as fictive kin, and are a key ingredient in employers’ households. However, some employers had negative perceptions of child domestic workers and described them as stubborn, witchy, and lazy. It is therefore concluded that in the context of developing and mid-income countries like Tanzania,where most people, including the elite, consider child domestic work as a charity, socially and culturally acceptable, removing children,particularly those aged between 15 and 18,from domestic work is not enough and may leave them more vulnerable to other dangerous forms of work within or outside their biological homes. Hence, the study recommends that as long as children at thisage are above the national and international legal minimum age for admission into work, theirhuman rights—like their right tolight work, their best interests, and their voices and those of their employers—remainvital aspects of policies affecting childdomestic workers. Again, in line with the current International Labour Organization’s emphasis on making domestic work decent,there is a need toimplement strategies to promote positive work experiences among child domestic workers (15–18 years old) and regulate their employment across Tanzania