Her Security: Tackling Child Labor in ASM through a Gender Lens

Joanne Lebert, IMPACT (Canada)

The presence of child labour in ASM mine sites has garnered significant attention, pressuring supply chain
actors and governments alike to identify policy and governance responses. This has led to perceiving child
labour through the lens of risk to supply chain actors and mineral supply chains, rather than on tackling root
causes. Efforts to remove children from mine sites have been difficult, often leading to children working in
other sectors -- including those with their own set of risks to the child. At the same time, the challenges and
security risks faced by women in ASM cobalt communities -- as the primary providers for children -- are often
ignored. The presenter will share insights from IMPACT's Her Security project in Kolwezi, DRC, which is
applying a women's empowerment approach to tackling child labour that centers improvements to the security
situations of women miners as a way of tackling child labour.

This presentation is part of a series of three sessions on Global Mineral Governance, organized by Chris Huggins.