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SeConS Development Initiative Group presented the study “Rapid assessment of the prevalence of child begging as a form of child labor in Montenegro” at an event organized on this occasion in Podgorica by the International Labor Organization and the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare of Montenegro.

Admir Adrović, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, and Nina Krgović, National Project Coordinator at International Labor Organization in Montenegro gave opening speeches.

One of the conclusions of the study “Rapid assessment of the prevalence of child begging as a form of child labor in Montenegro”, presented by the SeConS Development Initiative Group, was that the families of children found begging accept such behavior, whereby the existing family protection and legal protection do not yield adequate results that, in the long run, would keep the children found begging out of such aggravating circumstances. The findings of the study also suggest a low level of education and a lack of awareness among parents and children of the importance of education, whereby the lack of services at the local level makes it difficult to provide adequate support to children found begging. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the institutional responses to the phenomenon of child begging has slowed down.

The existing data records, however, make a limited contribution to formulating public policy and monitoring the phenomenon of begging, and intersectoral cooperation in this field is often highlighted as a challenge. Protocols regulating actions to be taken by the competent authorities and organizations in cases of begging have shown a strong potential for improving the social response to this phenomenon, but implementation is still a challenge.

Rapid assessment of the prevalence of child begging as a form of child labor in Montenegro“ was conducted as part of the program “Measurement, awareness-raising and policy engagement to accelerate action against child labor and forced labor” which is implemented by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and funded by the United States Department of Labor.