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Brazil's Ministry of Tourism is preparing an action plan to reinforce the efforts opposed to tourism involving child sex abuse during Carnaval. The idea is to engage various social segments in the cities that most receive visitors during this period: Rio, Recife, Salvador, Fortaleza, and Florianópolis.
The measures are part of the National Plan to Deal with the Sexual and Commercial Exploitation of Adolescents and Children through Tourism. The Plan will be launched during the World Social Forum, this month in Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil.
The coordinator of activities in the Ministry of Tourism, Sidney Alves Costa, informed that the Brazilian government will work in conjunction with professionals who operate in the tourism sector, such as employees of airline companies, hotels, bars, restaurants, street vendors, and taxi drivers.
"We are working with organized segments of society, searching for ways to raise awareness in each sector, in each professional, regarding the importance of their cooperation and providing information as to the best ways for each of them to prevent this kind of exploitation.
"This has nothing to do with tourism, because it represents a criminal activity and should be dealt with as such." the coordinator informed.
Costa underlined the importance of airline companies such as Gol, TAM, and Varig in the campaign. During their flights they are referring to the campaign, to alert passengers and demonstrate that Brazil is mobilized to combat sexual tourism," he explained.
According to Costa, foreign tourists, when they arrive in Brazil, recognize that the country is not part of the sexual tourism route and that the government and society are joined in an effort to combat this type of practice.
"Foreign tourists are beginning to understand that Brazil is a country that opposes this type of practice and that the government is acting with rigor to combat this crime," he added.
Costa also said that pamphlets will be distributed, as well as condoms and bags with phrases combatting sexual exploitation.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil
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