Brazil

Good Shepherd Sisters in Brazil

The Good Shepherd Sisters have been present in Brazil since 1891. However, Sisters Maria Lourdes Vicari and Ana Maria Rocha Bastos arrived in Campinas, Sao Paulo in 1976. They first worked for the Pastoral of Marginalized Women (PMM), helping women in situations of prostitution in the neighbourhood of Jardim Itatinga of the city of Campinas, a confined area where prostitution and trafficking spread quickly. In the early 80’s, they started a preventive work with the children and women in the neighbourhood to prevent them from taking the road of prostitution and drugs.

Later, in 1993, due to the expansion of their activities, they created a NGO called CEPROMM, Centro de Estudos e Promocao da Mulher Marginalizada (Centre of Studies and Promotion of Marginalized Women). Throughout the years, they managed to find new partnerships and consequently expanded the centre’s activities. In the first year, only 15 children and teenagers attended the centre, but by 2008 the beneficiaries had reached a total of  330 children, teenagers and families.

Today, the CEPROMM is a reference in Campinas for its actions on prevention and intervention against various forms of violence, such as human trafficking, prostitution, drugs…Besides, due to the increasing number of requests, the CEPROMM expanded its action in the neighbourhood of Cidade Singer, through a Program to Fight Sexual Exploitation of Children and Women.

As a consequence, the Good Shepherd Sisters in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil, through the CEPROMM, have made the fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children and women in both neighborhoods their priority.

To get more information about the activities of the CEPROMM and the work of the Good Shepherd Sisters there, go visit the website: http://www.cepromm.com.br/

Country Background

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America with its territory of 8.5 million square kilometres and a population of almost 199 million people (2009 figures). It is currently the ninth largest economy in the world and is classified as an upper-middle income country; its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is US$2.025 trillion or US$10,200 per capita (according to the 2009 CIA World Factbook). Its demographic data show that 30 percent of the population is below 15 years of age and thus Brazil is said to be a ‘young’ country (Montero 2005).

Economy

Despite Brazil’s increasing national economic wealth and improved social welfare, these improvements have not been distributed equally among its population. Indeed, Brazilian society is known to be the most unequal one in the world; the top 10 percent of earners receiving 47 percent of all national income while the bottom 40 percent of earners get less than 10 percent of the national income (The World Bank 2005). Moreover, approximately 35 percent of the population still lives on less than the minimum wage set by the federal government, which aimed to maintain the level of US$100 per month (Rocha 2001). According to the latest Human Development Report, Brazil ranks 69th with a Human Development Index of 0.792, below countries like Bosnia Herzegovina, Cuba or Mexico. The inequality in the country is at the root of Brazil’s social problems.

Health

The number of people with AIDS in Brazil is disturbing. Indeed, figures of the CIA Report show that in 2007, nearly 15,000 adults and children died of AIDS, which equals data of Lesotho and Chad. Besides, according to the same report, Brazil ranks 93^rd on infant mortality rate, below countries like Kazakhstan and Indonesia.

Drug issues

Brazil is the second-largest consumer of cocaine in the world, an illicit producer of cannabis, and big amounts of coca cultivation in the Amazon region, used for domestic consumption. During the past years, Brazil has witnessed an upsurge in drug-related violence and weapons smuggling.

Human Trafficking issue

“International Human Trafficking is considered the third most lucrative activity of transnational criminal networks, after weapon and drug trafficking.” (Terezi, 2007)

Brazilian officials recognize human trafficking as a serious problem; the government’s response has been strong but insufficient to eradicate the phenomenon, especially in light of the large number of victims present in the country.

The national survey of trafficking in women, children and adolescents for sexual exploitation in Brazil (PESTRAF), coordinated and launched in 2002, is a major contribution to understanding trafficking as a multi-dimensional development problem. It clearly shows that there is a close relationship between poverty, regional inequalities and the existence of routes for human trafficking in Brazil. According to figures from this survey the number of routes for human trafficking reaches 241 in Brazil.

 Although the North is considered the main source of human trafficking in the country, metropolitan regions in the South around Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are deeply affected by the phenomenon in that they are either a destination or a connection point. As far as the victims are concerned, the main target group is women and adolescents between 15 and 25 years-old. That is the reason why our presence in Campinas, Sao Paulo, is more than important for the population, especially children and women, who are easy targets for traffickers, to tackle this phenomenon and offer them an opportunity to live their lives.