Prostitution in Brazil
Encyclopedia
Prostitution itself in Brazil is legal, as there are no laws forbidding adult prostitution, but it is illegal to operate a brothel
or to employ prostitutes in any other way.
In the late 1990s, the International Encyclopedia of Sexuality
quoted police estimates putting the total number of prostitutes in Brazil
at about 1,000,000.
The Federal Police estimates that upward of 250,000 children are involved in prostitution. According to the recently released Protection Project report, various official sources agree that from 250,000 to 500,000 children live as child prostitutes. Other sources in Brazil put the number at up to 2,000,000 children.
In 2002, pressure by the sex worker organization Davida
contributed to the Brazilian Ministry of Labor adding "sex worker" to an official list of occupations.
Prostitution is not regulated in any way (no mandatory health checks, no licenses are issued etc.), but street prostitutes and call girls can contribute to the official government pension fund and receive benefits when they retire.
"become visually appealing; wait in place (to wait for someone who didn't promise to come); seduce with the look; approach the customer; charm with the voice; seduce with affectionate nicknames; conquer with the touch; involve with perfume;
offer the customer specialties; recognize the customer's potential; dance for the customer; dance with the customer; satisfy the customer's ego; praise the customer"
The press reported at the end of 2008 that a government official has announced that the site would be "toned down", following criticism by the media. The law professor Luiz Flavio Gomes has told the O Globo newspaper in its online edition that "What is on the site gives the impression of an apology for sexual exploitation."
The job of a prostitute is called "Professional of sex" and is described as follows: "They [the prostitutes] work on their own initiative, in the street, in bars, night-clubs, hotels, harbor, highways and in garimpos (gold prospecting places). They act in different environments: open air, closed places and inside vehicles, in irregular schedules. In the exercise of some of their activities they can be exposed to vehicles gases, to bad weather, to sound pollution and to social discrimination. There are still risks of getting STD infections, bad-treatment, street violence and death."
It is also stated that: "For the exercise of the profession is required that the workers take part in workshops on
safe sex, offered by the category associations. Other complementary courses of
professional formation, such as, beauty courses, personal care, budget planning, as well as vocational courses for alternative sources of income also are offered by the
associations, in several states.
Access to the career is open to those who are 18 or older; the average education is
between fourth and seventh grade. Full performance of activities occurs after two years of
experience."
was the Casa Rosa, which some have advocated being made a national landmark or museum.
founder of the Green Party
has been a strong voice for sex workers' rights in Brazil and introduced legislation in Congress to recognise prostitution as a profession. The bill was defeated in 2007.
was angry at the Beijing's (4th) International Conference on Women
for their condemnation of prostitution. Their leader, ex-prostitute and sociologist Gabriela da Silva Leite, said that she had classes with sociologist Fernando Henrique Cardoso
at Universidade de Săo Paulo
, who later became Brazil's president.
. Gabriela Silva Leite, the executive director of Prostitution Civil Rights, says that because of information campaigns, condom
use among prostitutes is high.
The Brazilian government turned down $40 million in U.S. anti-HIV/AIDS funding in 2005, because the U.S. government required all recipients to sign an anti-prostitution pledge
. The Brazilian anti-AIDS program employs prostitutes to hand out information and free condoms; Brazil's AIDS commissioner Pedro Chequer was quoted as saying "Sex workers are part of implementing our AIDS policy and deciding how to promote it. They are our partners. How could we ask prostitutes to take a position against themselves?"
A Washington Post article stated that the Brazilian anti-AIDS program is considered by the United Nations to be the most successful in the developing world.
. The phenomenon is closely related with high levels of poverty
and inequality
in the country.
The Brazilian government is increasingly frustrated with the fact that a number of foreign tourists travel to Brazil for sex tourism
,
including child prostitution. The government of Brazil is working stringently to clamp down particularly at child prostitution.
and Western Europe
, including Portugal
, Spain
, Netherlands
and the United Kingdom
.
exists throughout the country, but it is most apparent in coastal resort towns in the Northeast
, South
, and Southeast
, and in major tourist destinations such as Rio de Janeiro
and Fortaleza
, Ceara
, as well as in the wildlife tourist areas of the Pantanal
and Amazon
.
A 2006 University of Brasilia study found that approximately one-fourth of the 1,514 tourist destinations frequented by citizens had an active sexual commercial market for children and adolescents
and also found, in combination with the SEDH and the UN Children's Fund, commercial sex involving children and adolescents in approximately one-sixth of the country's 5,561 municipalities.
from all parts of the country. The government reported that trafficking routes existed in all states and the Federal District. The National Research on Trafficking in Women, Children, and Adolescents for Sexual Exploitation Purposes identified 241 international and national trafficking routes. Persons exploited in trafficking schemes typically come from low-income families and usually have not finished high school.
It is estimated that Brazil is responsible for 15% of women trafficked in South America
, a great majority being from the North and the Northeast.
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
or to employ prostitutes in any other way.
Extent
Recent reliable estimates on the total number of prostitutes are not available.In the late 1990s, the International Encyclopedia of Sexuality
International Encyclopedia of Sexuality
The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality is a four-volume reference work on human sexuality, organized by country. It is also available online. It was published between 1997 and 2001 and was edited by Robert T. Francoeur and Raymond J. Noonan with contributions from academics worldwide...
quoted police estimates putting the total number of prostitutes in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
at about 1,000,000.
The Federal Police estimates that upward of 250,000 children are involved in prostitution. According to the recently released Protection Project report, various official sources agree that from 250,000 to 500,000 children live as child prostitutes. Other sources in Brazil put the number at up to 2,000,000 children.
In 2002, pressure by the sex worker organization Davida
Davida
Davida – Prostituição, Direitos Civis, Saúde is an NGO that supports sex workers in Brazil. It was founded in 1992, is based in Rio de Janeiro, and gained international notoriety in 2005 when it launched the fashion line Daspu.-Goals:Davida works in HIV/AIDS prevention and tries to improve the...
contributed to the Brazilian Ministry of Labor adding "sex worker" to an official list of occupations.
Prostitution is not regulated in any way (no mandatory health checks, no licenses are issued etc.), but street prostitutes and call girls can contribute to the official government pension fund and receive benefits when they retire.
Brazilian Government Website
The government's website on prostitution Brazil’s Labor and Employment Ministry Primer on Sex Professional, offering advise for those who wish to became prostitutes, has been the source of controversy, with some accusing the government of encouraging prostitution. The site, among others, teaches prostitutes how to "get an encounter", advising them to"become visually appealing; wait in place (to wait for someone who didn't promise to come); seduce with the look; approach the customer; charm with the voice; seduce with affectionate nicknames; conquer with the touch; involve with perfume;
offer the customer specialties; recognize the customer's potential; dance for the customer; dance with the customer; satisfy the customer's ego; praise the customer"
The press reported at the end of 2008 that a government official has announced that the site would be "toned down", following criticism by the media. The law professor Luiz Flavio Gomes has told the O Globo newspaper in its online edition that "What is on the site gives the impression of an apology for sexual exploitation."
The job of a prostitute is called "Professional of sex" and is described as follows: "They [the prostitutes] work on their own initiative, in the street, in bars, night-clubs, hotels, harbor, highways and in garimpos (gold prospecting places). They act in different environments: open air, closed places and inside vehicles, in irregular schedules. In the exercise of some of their activities they can be exposed to vehicles gases, to bad weather, to sound pollution and to social discrimination. There are still risks of getting STD infections, bad-treatment, street violence and death."
It is also stated that: "For the exercise of the profession is required that the workers take part in workshops on
safe sex, offered by the category associations. Other complementary courses of
professional formation, such as, beauty courses, personal care, budget planning, as well as vocational courses for alternative sources of income also are offered by the
associations, in several states.
Access to the career is open to those who are 18 or older; the average education is
between fourth and seventh grade. Full performance of activities occurs after two years of
experience."
History
One of the most famous brothels in Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
was the Casa Rosa, which some have advocated being made a national landmark or museum.
Public Opinion
64% of the population (according to a 1998 poll) think prostitution is immoral and should be made illegal, 29% see it as a job as any other. Fifty nine percent (64% of women) believe that prostitutes do what they do because they like it.Politics
Fernando GabeiraFernando Gabeira
Fernando Paulo Nagle Gabeira is a Brazilian politician, author and journalist. He has been a federal deputy for the State of Rio de Janeiro since 1995....
founder of the Green Party
Green Party (Brazil)
The Brazilian Green Party was constituted after the military dictatorship period and, like other Green Parties around the world, is committed to establishing a set of policies on ensuring social-democracy and sustainable development...
has been a strong voice for sex workers' rights in Brazil and introduced legislation in Congress to recognise prostitution as a profession. The bill was defeated in 2007.
Sex Workers' organisations
Brazilian sex workers have campaigned for the repeal of laws criminalising the maintenance of whorehouses and pimping. Those offenses carry sentences from two to five years in prison. They demanded that they should pay social benefits and get all the privileges like any other worker. The National Network of Sex Professionals (Rede Brasileira de Prostitutas)was angry at the Beijing's (4th) International Conference on Women
Fourth World Conference on Women
The United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace on 4-15 September 1995 in Beijing, China. 189 governments and more than 5,000 representatives from 2,100 non-governmental organizations participated in the Conference...
for their condemnation of prostitution. Their leader, ex-prostitute and sociologist Gabriela da Silva Leite, said that she had classes with sociologist Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
at Universidade de Săo Paulo
University of São Paulo
Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...
, who later became Brazil's president.
HIV/AIDS
In 2003, it was estimated that about 6% of Brazilian prostitutes were infected with HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
. Gabriela Silva Leite, the executive director of Prostitution Civil Rights, says that because of information campaigns, condom
Condom
A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...
use among prostitutes is high.
The Brazilian government turned down $40 million in U.S. anti-HIV/AIDS funding in 2005, because the U.S. government required all recipients to sign an anti-prostitution pledge
Anti-prostitution pledge
The U.S. federal government requires non-governmental organizations that receive federal anti-HIV/AIDS or anti-trafficking funds to adopt an organization-wide policy opposing prostitution and sex-trafficking. This requirement, known as the anti-prostitution pledge, has been in place since 2003...
. The Brazilian anti-AIDS program employs prostitutes to hand out information and free condoms; Brazil's AIDS commissioner Pedro Chequer was quoted as saying "Sex workers are part of implementing our AIDS policy and deciding how to promote it. They are our partners. How could we ask prostitutes to take a position against themselves?"
A Washington Post article stated that the Brazilian anti-AIDS program is considered by the United Nations to be the most successful in the developing world.
Child prostitution
Child prostitution in Brazil is widespread and a serious problem. Brazil is considered to have the worst child sex trafficking record after ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. The phenomenon is closely related with high levels of poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and inequality
Economic inequality
Economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of...
in the country.
The Brazilian government is increasingly frustrated with the fact that a number of foreign tourists travel to Brazil for sex tourism
Sex tourism
Sex tourism is travel to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes.The World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, defines sex tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary...
,
including child prostitution. The government of Brazil is working stringently to clamp down particularly at child prostitution.
Prostitutes abroad
High numbers of Brazilian prostitutes are found in some regions of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, including Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Sex tourism
Sex tourismSex tourism
Sex tourism is travel to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes.The World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, defines sex tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary...
exists throughout the country, but it is most apparent in coastal resort towns in the Northeast
Northeast Region, Brazil
The Northeast Region of Brazil is composed of the following states: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia, and it represents 18.26% of the Brazilian territory....
, South
Southern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...
, and Southeast
Southeast Region, Brazil
The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are three richest states of Brazil,...
, and in major tourist destinations such as Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Fortaleza
Fortaleza
Fortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population close to 2.5 million , Fortaleza is the 5th largest city in Brazil. It has an area of and one of the highest demographic densities in the country...
, Ceara
Ceará
Ceará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
, as well as in the wildlife tourist areas of the Pantanal
Pantanal
The Pantanal is a tropical wetland and one of the world's largest wetland of any kind. Most of it lies within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and portions of Bolivia and Paraguay, sprawling over an area estimated at between and...
and Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
.
A 2006 University of Brasilia study found that approximately one-fourth of the 1,514 tourist destinations frequented by citizens had an active sexual commercial market for children and adolescents
Commercial sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation of children constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children and amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery....
and also found, in combination with the SEDH and the UN Children's Fund, commercial sex involving children and adolescents in approximately one-sixth of the country's 5,561 municipalities.
Human trafficking
Women are traffickedHuman trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
from all parts of the country. The government reported that trafficking routes existed in all states and the Federal District. The National Research on Trafficking in Women, Children, and Adolescents for Sexual Exploitation Purposes identified 241 international and national trafficking routes. Persons exploited in trafficking schemes typically come from low-income families and usually have not finished high school.
It is estimated that Brazil is responsible for 15% of women trafficked in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, a great majority being from the North and the Northeast.
External links
- Prostitution Puts U.S. and Brazil at Odds on AIDS Policy
- Brazil and UNICEF Join to End Child Prostitution
- Brazil starts operation to curb 'sex tourism'
- Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation
- Factors That Contribute to the Trafficking Infrastructure
Sources
- Pasini E. Sexo para quase todos: a prostituição feminina na Vila Mimosa (Sex for almost all: female prostitution in Vila Mimosa) Cadernos Pagu no.25 Campinas July/Dec. 2005
- Brazilian Sex Workers Don’t Mourn, They Organize. Brazilmax October 19 2005
- Want to Be a Prostitute? The Brazilian Government Can Teach You How. Brazzil July 2006
- Memories of My Good Friend, a Brazilian Whore. Brazzil January 2006
- More sex please! We are Brazilian. Cover Story Brazzil June 1996
- Brazilian Sex Workers and the Transnational Performance of Masculinity. Gregory Mitchell, Interregnum Conference. 2008
Migration, tourism and trafficking
- Adriana Gracia Piscitelli. Tropical sex in a European country: Brazilian women's migration to Italy in the frame of international sex tourism (Sexo tropical em um país europeu: migração de brasileiras para a Itália no marco do "turismo sexual" internacional) Estud. fem. vol.4 no.se Florianópolis 2008
- Blanchette, Thaddeus; Silva, Ana Paula. A mistura clássica: o apelo do Rio de Janeiro como destino para o turismo sexual. Rio de Janeiro: Leitura Crítica, 2004.
- http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-83332005000200007&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=ptSilva, Ana Paula da and Grupo Davida et al. Prostitutas, "traficadas" e pânicos morais: uma análise da produção de fatos em pesquisas sobre o "tráfico de seres humanos". Cad. Pagu [online]. 2005, n.25, pp. 153–184. (Prostitutes, victims of trafficking and moral panics: an analysis of how facts are produced in research regarding "trafficking of human beings")]
Copacabana
- Silva A. P. da; Blanchette T. "Nossa Senhora da Help": sexo, turismo e deslocamentotransnacional em Copacabana. Cadernos Pagu, Campinas, n. 25, p. 249-280, 2005. (Our Lady of Help: Sex, Tourism and Transnational Displacement in Copacabana)
- Copacabana Crime Clean-up Aims to Restore the Glitter. Guardian Jan 17 2009
- Rio nightclub closure leaves prostitutes Helpless. Guardian August 2009
- It Was a Long Goodbye, But Help, Rio's Sex Temple, Is Closed. Brazzilmag Jan 7 2010