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STREET CHILDREN IN BRAZIL

Intermediate Modern Studies

Brazil – Human Rights Issues

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FACTS

• Estimates on the numbers of Brazilian street children vary from 200,000 – 8 million.

• Each year around 40,000 children disappear.

• 27% of youngsters attend neither school nor work.

• Approximately 2.5 million children aged 10-15 have been forced into prostitution.

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What are street children?

• Have no adults to look after them.

• Survive by themselves.

• Need to find own shelter and food.

• To survive they form groups or gangs for protection.

• Often found in large numbers in big cities with favelas – eg. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

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Why so many street children in Brazil?

• Urbanisation – many end up in favelas where social problems exist – families split up – many children are abandoned or run away.

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• Poverty/high unemployment – cannot afford to look after kids so abandon them or make them work – often job far from home and cannot afford transport – therefore sleep on streets weekdays and go home at weekends.

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• Government – cutbacks in public expenditure and lack of social services – means that if parents cannot look after children, then there is no alternative.

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PROBLEMS FACING STREET CHILDREN

• REMEMBER:

• Drugs and sex, Arrests, Violence, Income and Education.

DAVIE

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• Drugs and Sex – Adults exploit children by making them sell sex or drugs and then take the money. To escape problems – many children become drug addicts – eg. sniff glue.

• Arrests – Regarded as vermin – police arrest them – tortured or sexually abused by police or while in prison.

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• Violence – Death squads hired to kill them by businessmen who see them as a threat to their business – eg. Baixada Fluminense massacre (2005).

Poor area outside Rio de Janeiro – 30 people murdered by state police force.

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• Income – Child labour is a growing problem in Brazil. Do anything to make money – eg. wash cars or clean shoes.

• Education – Need a permanent address to go to school. Unable to get a decent job in future with no education.

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Help for Street Children

Government:• New laws to protect rights of street

children – eg. 2006, a law was introduced which stated that street children could only be arrested if they had committed a crime.

• In 2005, the BOLSA FAMILIA scheme was introduced to encourage children to go back to school – parents given money for every child sent back.

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Voluntary Organisations:

• Task Brazil – Charity that helps children in Rio. Runs shelters for young children, pregnant teenagers and their babies. Offers basic medical care to street children.

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• Pastoral Do Menor – Charity in Rio that offers street children training to find work. Also tries to reintegrate children with family and then visit home to make sure children being looked after properly.

• Streets Ahead Project – Run by BMS in Sao Paulo. Provides education and training.

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