When ESG leaders sit down to prepare their organisation’s next Modern Slavery Statement, the focus is often on supply chains: forced labour, migrant worker exploitation, debt bondage. But one area is frequently under-examined: children.
The reality is that modern slavery and child safeguarding are deeply connected. Globally, the numbers are sobering:
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- 160 million children or 10% of all children are in child labour (ILO & UNICEF, 2021).
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- Of these, 79 million are engaged in hazardous work, directly endangering their health and safety.
These are not abstract statistics. They reflect real children making our clothes, harvesting our food, or working in unsafe, informal economies. And they highlight the direct link between child exploitation and corporate supply chains.
Closer to Home: Risks in Australia
Modern slavery is often treated as a problem “out there,” but risks are present in Australia too, particularly when it comes to young workers.
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- Under-18s are cheaper labour: they can be paid less than adults, and no superannuation is required.
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- This makes them attractive to employers, but also more vulnerable to exploitation.
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- According to the McKell Institute (2024), 47% of workers aged 15–18 reported experiencing sexual harassment at work in the past five years.
This means businesses not only need to look overseas but also at their own workplaces, contractors, and franchise networks to ensure young workers are safe from harm.
How Child Safeguarding Strengthens Modern Slavery Compliance
The On Us: Australian Business Coalition for Safeguarding Children, in partnership with the Australian Childhood Foundation, has developed Child Safeguarding Business Principles and a self-assessment tool that provide a structured way for companies to manage these risks. For ESG leaders, this creates clear value:
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- Governance & Oversight – Embedding child safeguarding in board and executive governance demonstrates accountability and aligns with the governance expectations of the Modern Slavery Act (2018, Cth) and the UK Modern Slavery Act (2015).
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- Risk Assessment & Due Diligence – Mapping risks to children in operations, supply chains, and products mirrors modern slavery risk mapping. This process makes it easier to meet the Act’s requirement to identify and disclose slavery risks in statements.
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- Policies & Supplier Standards – Codes of conduct, supplier vetting, and whistleblowing mechanisms that protect children double as safeguards against forced and child labour in supply chains.
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- Workforce Protection – Training managers and staff on safeguarding builds awareness of exploitation and harassment risks affecting under-18s in the workforce and in supply chains.
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- Digital & Online Risks – or technology and service companies, safeguarding children online is inseparable from tackling trafficking and exploitation facilitated via digital platforms.
Beyond Compliance: The Business Benefits
For executive teams, the case for integrating child safeguarding into ESG strategy extends beyond compliance:
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- Reputation & Social Licence: Companies visibly protecting children earn stronger consumer and community trust, avoiding reputational damage associated with labour exploitation scandals.
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- Investor Confidence: ESG funds and shareholders increasingly benchmark performance on human rights. Demonstrating proactive action on child safeguarding and modern slavery strengthens your ESG profile.
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- Workforce Culture: Protecting young workers creates safer, more respectful workplaces. This directly supports retention, morale, and talent attraction, particularly among purpose-driven younger employees.
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- Resilient Supply Chains: Identifying and addressing child labour risks early reduces the chance of costly disruptions, product recalls, or regulatory action.
Why This Matters Now
The global direction is clear: regulators and investors expect businesses to take a proactive stance on human rights. Child labour and exploitation are at the centre of that expectation. Yet too often, companies treat child safeguarding and modern slavery as separate agendas. In reality, they are two sides of the same coin.
For ESG leaders, joining the dots provides an opportunity to move beyond compliance and demonstrate genuine leadership. It’s also a chance to reframe the narrative inside organisations: protecting children is not just a community initiative or CSR add-on, it’s core to risk management, governance, and sustainable business practice.
At its heart, this is about responsibility. Children should never carry the burden of protecting themselves from exploitation. That responsibility rests squarely with us and with the businesses whose operations, products, and supply chains shape their lives.
