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Another 150 municipalities should be included in Brazil's Program to Confront Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents (Sentinela, Programa de Enfrentamento à Violência Sexual contra Crianças e Adolescentes) in the second half of this year.
The Brazilian federal government already maintains covenants with 314 municipalities in 26 states. The Sentinela (Sentinel) program, which was created in 2001, has already provided assistance to 29 thousand children and adolescents.
During a ceremony marking his official departure as head of the Special Secretariat of Human Rights, Nilmário Miranda highlighted the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the country.
"Today we are aware of all the Brazilian cities that possess criminal networks, and we learned how to combat them and thus rescue these children and adolescents, and this became one of the country's major banners."
There are currently studies that indicate the chief areas where situations of risk exist. One example is the Study on the Trafficking of Women, Children, and Adolescents for Purposes of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Brazil, prepared by the NGO Cecria, in partnership with the Organization of American States (OAS).
The study mapped out the 241 land, sea, and air routes used by organized crime in Brazil for the sexual exploitation of women, young people, and children. Of this total, 78 are located in the North and 69 in the Northeast. The Southeast has 35 routes; the Center-West, 33; and the South, 28.
Even the Federal Highway Police (PRF) conducted a study verifying the routes where children are exploited along the country's federal highways. The PRF also mapped out two new child trafficking routes leading out of the country.
The children are taken by truck from the North of the country with Surinam as their destination, and from the South, on their way to Argentina and Uruguay.
Miranda criticized the fact that the Special Secretariat was deprived of ministerial status, because, in his view, ministerial status gave the Secretariat bargaining power with other Brazilian government officials.
The change occurred at the time of the most recent Cabinet shift. The Secretariat was made a subsecretariat of the Executive Office of the Presidency of the Republic.
Agência Brasil
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