Brazil struggles to prevent child exploitation(1)

The FIFA World Cup being played in Brazil has sounded a warning for organizations fighting exploitation of children and adolescents, during an event that has attracted 3.7 million tourists to the 12 host cities.

As well as revenue, business and employment opportunities, the football World Cup also increases the risks of labor and sexual exploitation of children under 16, according to social organizations and the  United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“We do not have statistics to quantify the problem, but factors surrounding the World Cup create more vulnerability to exploitation” among children and adolescents,said Flora Werneck, the coordinator of Childhood Brasil.

The wave of tourists between Jun. 12 and Jul. 13 in the cities where FIFA (International Association Football Federation) World Cup matches are being played has multiplied temporary demand for services and increased child labor and the vulnerability of children’s rights, Werneck said.

Childhood Brasil has been combating sexual abuse in this Latin American country for the past 15 years.

In Werneck’s view, the fast pace of construction and infrastructure projects for the World Cup created dramatic growth in temporary jobs, migrant workers and family evictions, and the school holidays are now another risk factor.

Children and teenagers may be coerced into illegal activities like selling drugs and child prostitution. “They are more exposed to these and other risks,” Werneck said.

Violations of children’s rights are exacerbated by social factors that increase vulnerability, such as inequality, poverty, lack of access to education, consumerism and the culture of machismo, said Werneck and other experts.

The sexual exploitation of children related to major sporting events is a problem that has been silenced and neglected by public policies.

A 2013 study carried out by Brunel University, in London, commissioned by Childhood Brasil in association with the Oak Foundation , pointed to factors determining increased numbers of cases of violence against children, due to the existence of “significant risks” to children around major sporting events.

In addition to this year’s World Cup, Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

The lack of data measuring the magnitude of the risks does not mean these do not exist, the study says. “We should not assume that no data = no problem,” it states.

The experts consulted say that there is a profound lack of data related to child exploitation in Brazil. The figures that exist are from the Human Rights Secretariat of the Presidency’s rights abuse hotline “Disque Denúncia Nacional”

In 2013 the hotline received more than 120,000 denunciations of violations of children’s rights.

Five of the 12 states that are hosting matches in this World Cup are at the top of the list for child abuse complaints: São Paulo (17,990), Rio de Janeiro (15,635), Bahia (10,957), Minas Gerais (9,565) and Rio Grande do Sul (6,269).

“No child should suffer because a football stadium is built, nor should they be victims of exploitation through sex tourism. There are no firm data that can prove that mega events are related to a rise in child abuse,” said Alessandro Pinto, the coordinator in Brazil of the Save the Dream campaign. But, he said, “we are here to watch this phenomenon closely in Brazil for the next two years.”

Please read exploitation, page 2.