"How Yemen's civil war drives child labour and abuse,"

As thousands of Yemeni children are being sexually abused and badly injured at the workplace, activists push for effective monitoring mechanisms...

The ongoing war in Yemen has led to an increase in several forms of violence against children, including exploitation, physical abuse, child labour, forced recruitment, domestic and gender-based violence and child marriage...

In addition to being sexually abused by predatory employers, children living in rural areas in Yemen are vulnerable to forced labour practices in the agricultural sector.

Child employment in agriculture is considered hazardous as children are exposed to pesticides, heavy agricultural machinery, and physical stress...

"Because of the conflict, many children are unable to report the violations they are exposed to, due to the poor economic situation which forces them to keep silent and continue working," Mona Alban, Head of the Child Labor Control Unit at Yemen's Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, told FairPlanet.

"If the conflict in Yemen continues, we can expect that a rising number of children will be abused in the workplace," she added...

Unable to access education and living in financially insecure households, children in Yemen have found themselves being forced into the labour market.

And as Yemen's labour laws do not stipulate explicit sentences for companies that employ children under the legal age, the constant stream of children entering the labour market has continued to flow unabated.

All the while, children injured at work are rarely supported by their employers...