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 For the fifth straight year, the "Facing Up To Sexual Exploitation of Children During Carnival" campaign was inaugurated by the head of Brazil's Special Secretariat for Human Rights, minister Paulo Vannuchi.
The campaign could just as well be called "Facing Down Sexual Exploitation of Children All The Time," as it is part of a wider, deeper government crack down on abuse and exploitation of children throughout Brazilian society that is intended to be a permanent, year-round effort.
This year the Carnaval campaign is focused on denouncing this crime: besides the phone number 100, concerned citizens are encouraged to register complaints and denouncements at the equivalent of juvenile courts.
The campaign will be present in 14 cities: Rio, Fortaleza, Salvador, Recife, Florianópolis, Belém, Manaus, Corumbá, Porto Alegre, São Paulo, Brasília, Vitória, Belo Horizonte, Porto Velho and Campo Grande.
The number of reports made to Dial 100 hotline, hit a record last year with a total of 29,756 calls. It represents, in just one year, about 25% of the total 114,523 complaints received since the beginning of the service established in 2003.
Of the reports received last year, about one third is related to cases of abuse and sexual exploitation, according national undersecretary for the Rights of the Child and Adolescent from the Special Secretariat of Human Rights of the Presidency, Carmen Oliveira.
For her this number has increased because the population is becoming more and more aware of the need to report these criminal practices.
"There is a rising curve of complaints forwarded to Dial 100, which already had 2 million calls since it was created, with more than 100 thousand complaints investigated," said Oliveira.
The undersecretary appeared alongside Paulo Vannuchi, Brazil's Special Secretary for Human Rights, at the launching of the 5th edition of the national campaign against sexual exploitation of children.
Vannuchi notes that the increase in complaints does not mean that the number of child sex abuses went up. He believes that population is just becoming more aware of the crime.
Carnaval revelers will receive T-shirts, fans, posters, stickers and bandanas. Some of the material prepared to be distributed to foreign tourist is in English and Spanish.
The campaign slogan is "Sexual Exploitation of Children is a Crime. Report! Go to the Guardian Council of your city or Dial 100." The information material is illustrated by a young girl with a tear on her face, dressed as Columbine.
Brazil's Federal Police, according to Oliveira, has already mapped more than 1,200 points considered a danger for sexual exploitation of kids in Brazil including gas stations, truck stops and restaurants.
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Now, why are there no numbers for arrests and convictions? These would be the important numbers. I've only been hanging around Brazil a couple of years, and I have seen much evidence of child prostitution and child sexual abuse. For Brazil to be taken seriously as a tourist destination by millions of more American and European families, they are going to have to make some strides in drastically reducing this crime.
When a family reads a news story of child sexual abuse, it scares and disgusts them. The recent article about the 7 year old girl being substituted for a sex queen doesn't help much.