Children in Brazil
Prostitution Industry
Child prostitution is a huge industry in
Brazil. It is assumed that there are between 500,000 and 2 million child
prostitutes in Brazil (Jubilee Web Site). Although there are boy
prostitutes, the most common child
prostitutes are girls. Prostitution preys on impoverished children and
rides primarily on the idea of debts (Dimenstein Web Site). These debts
can be related to numerous things, but commonly consist of housing,
medical
and food bills. However, prostitution in Brazilian culture is also
compounded by the ideology which states that "sexual relations between
adults and
minors is a century old tradition that is widely considered to be normal
behavior" (Epstein 1996).
All child prostitutes find themselves prostituted
by
their families, themselves, or by other outside influences. However,
possibly the
most common way that a child gets into the prostitution industry is
illustrated here and was found on the Gilberto
Dimenstein
Web Site:
A man brings a group of street children to a boat with the promise of
work
for them as waiters and waitresses in another town. The children follow
this man onto the boat completely oblivious to the fact that they are
being charged for all the food they eat, the beds they sleep in, and the
medical attention they receive. Upon entering the docks at the new city,
the person who brought the children, mostly girls, tells them of these
debts and suggests that they sleep with people in order to pay it off. He
informs them that they must do this because unfortunately their
salaries as waiters/waitresses will take too long to cover the costs.
Thus the cycle begins. Something as simple as this above illustration
will send a child into a downward spiral that consists of sex, drugs,
disease, and sometimes, death.
References
Epstein, Jack (1996). Maybe the Worst Place in the World. World Press
Review, 43:10
Dimenstein, Gilberto (February 22, 1999). Brazil Expands Program to End
Child Labor.
http://pangaea.org/street_children/latin/brzpros.htm | (November 2,
1999).
Jubilee Web Site (1998, October 2). Brazilian Street Cihldren Briefing
Paper.
http://www.jubileecampaign.demon.co.uk/children/bra9.htm |
(November 2, 1999).
This page was created by
Lindsay
Bodack | , Stephanie Hunter | ,
Tom
Kaufman | ,
and Caitlin
Kelly | as a collaborative project at Tulane University | in the
Children
and Society | class taught by
Professor
April Brayfield | . The purpose of these pages is to educate the
public
on the plight of poverty stricken children in Brazil. To view other
student web pages please visit the Children
Around the
World website.
updated December 15, 1999