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Child LaborArchive 2008–2016

Child Labor in Cote d'Ivoire (2009)

A child labor case from 2009 in Cote d'Ivoire, United Kingdom.

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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?

What happened

An 11 year old Malian boy dreamed of buying a bicycle. When a man approached him and told him he could work on a cocoa farm and make enough money to buy a bicycle, a radio and more, the boy did not suspect the man of being a child trafficker. He went with the man to Cote d'Ivoire, where the man sold him to a cocoa farmer. He and other trafficked boys worked long hours doing back-breaking and dangerous work farming cocoa and bananas. The farmer gave them little to eat, beat them severely, and forbade them from leaving the farm. At last he realized he had become a slave.

Response and intervention

The victim suffered in forced labor for two years before he escaped and returned to Mali. He now works in a market garden but still doesn’t earn enough to buy a bicycle. More Information: and other trafficked boys worked long hours doing back-breaking and dangerous work farming cocoa and bananas. The farmer gave them little to eat, beat them severely, and forbade them from leaving the farm. Ibrahim suffered in forced labor for two years before he escaped and returned to Mali. He now works in a market garden but still doesn’t earn enough to buy a bicycle.

CSEC2007

Luton, England, United Kingdom, 2007

United Kingdom GB

-Police arrested the defendants on various dates between Dec 2007 and May 2008. -a Turkish national and naturalised British citizen pleaded guilty on 22nd of September to two counts of controlling a brothel. He was given nine years for trafficking within the United Kingdom for sexual exploitation, to be served consecutively with five years for controlling prostitution for gain; five years for controlling a child prostitute; four years for the first count of controlling a brothel for the use of prostitution; four years for the second count of controlling a brothel for the use of prostitution, leading to total imprisonment of 14 years. -a Slovakian national, was found guilty of trafficking into the UK. He was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. -a Czech Republic national, was found guilty of trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation. He was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. -a Kosovon national, was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years for trafficking within the UK and five years, to be served concurrently, for controlling a child prostitute. -another Turkish national was found guilty on 3.11.08 and sentenced to two and a half years for controlling a child prostitute, and 15 months, to be served concurrently, for controlling a brothel for the use of prostitution. -an Albanian national was found guilty and sentenced on 4.11.08 to three years for controlling a prostitute for gain. Charges of unlawful wounding and assault occasioning actual bodily harm will lie on file.

1 sourceArchive 2008–2016
Forced Criminality2010

Luton, United Kingdom, 2010

United Kingdom GB

James Watt, 27, his girlfriend, Natasha Oldfield, 29, and his brother Richard's girlfriend, Nichola Roberts, 22, were jailed FOR LIFE for murder today Watt will serve a minimum of 36 years, Oldfield a minimum of 18 and Roberts a minimum of 15. James's brother, Robert Watt, 20, and his mother, Jennifer Smith-Dennis, 58, were jailed for eight years and 10 years respectively for familial homicide. A third brother, Richard Watt, 25, who previously pleaded guilty to familial homicide was sentenced to six years in prison. James, Robert and Richard Watt had pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice and, on Friday, Roberts, Oldfield and Smith-Dennis were convicted by the jury.

2 sourcesArchive 2008–2016
Forced Labor2023

Bristol, United Kingdom, 2023

United Kingdom

Eastern European workers trafficked for cannabis cultivation in residential properties. Confined forced to tend plants under threat Accused: Albanian organized crime group.

1 source