Tenth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

The menace of child labour and human trafficking are some of the societal vices of the modern world that have appeared to defy many solutions. Their devastating effects on individuals and the society are manifold, including non-access to education as a means of self-emancipation and the rise in crime rate. Government’s effort at combatting these dastardly trends through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and Non-Governmental Organizations appear not to have yielded the desired result. Hence, the focus of this paper is to explore the potentials of literacy activities and visual arts, whose persuasive functions could be harnessed to appeal to the conscience of the perpetrators of these unwholesome acts. The paper suggests that literary artists could craft modern day themes in the story lines of their works that lampoon and mirror such evils in society. Individuals could also imbibe the reading culture by reading literature that condemns such practices. It also suggests that images that depict these evil practices should be painted on walls of public buildings as murals to be viewed, an act that could dissuade people from engaging is such inhuman acts.