“Simple” vs complex cases Together with partner cooperatives, we estimate that approximately 95% of child labour cases fall into the “simple to fix” category, typically involving younger children whose situations can be remedied with straightforward, low-cost interventions. The remaining 5% represent more complex and costly cases, often involving older children requiring intensive support. “Simple” cases Among primary school children (5-11 years old), barriers to school attendance can often be resolved with the simple and cost-effective solutions mentioned above. These small investments can dramatically alter a child’s life trajectory: once children are back in school, they are more likely to continue into junior and secondary levels, reducing their long-term vulnerability. In this way: early intervention in a child’s life can enable impactful, low-cost remediation with long-term benefits. Complex cases In contrast, remediation becomes significantly more complex and costly for older children, who represent about 5% of cases. Teenagers often have greater autonomy and may resist returning to education, especially if they’ve been working and contributing to household income for some time. Vocational training offers a viable alternative, but it demands a high level of investment and coordination. This includes identifying a suitable master-apprentice relationship, enrolling the child in a vocational school, securing accommodation near the training centre, providing monthly facilitator check-ins, supplying stipends and tools, and offering foundational literacy and numeracy support if the child has missed earlier schooling. Beyond this, shifting community norms around older children’s roles is also more challenging than for younger children. Families may find it difficult to accept that a physically capable teenager – accustomed to tasks such as lifting heavy loads – should return to school. This is further complicated by the fact that some work is permitted for older children (see overview on p. 81), which makes sensitisation efforts by Community Facilitators less straightforward. Without a shift in understanding around the fact that mature-looking teenagers still need education and protection, older children are at risk of being overlooked in remediation efforts. Taken together, these factors make remediation for older age groups more intensive, more costly, and less predictable in terms of success.
Time taken to close cases Per ICI best practice guidelines, a case of child labour can only be closed after 2 consecutive household visits, which should be spaced out by 3 months (with remediation initiated within 3 months of identification). Accordingly, the fastest rate at which a case can be closed is within 9 months. ICI analysis of Tony’s Open Chain 2024/25 data shows that the majority (42%) of cases were closed within 9 months, and 29% within 10-18 months. These constitute the “simple” cases described above. The remaining 29% (constituting the complex cases) took more than 2 years to resolve.
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Ending exploitation in cocoa together
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