A man knocked at my door and I opened it Ladies and gentlemen put you hand on the ground Ladies and gentlemen jump on one foot Ladies and gentlemen A man knocked at my door and I opened it Ladies and gentlemen put you hand on the ground Ladies and gentlemen jump on one foot A man knocked at my door and I opened it Ladies and gentlemen put you hand on the ground Ladies and gentlemen jump on one foot WORLD WITHOUT BOUNDARIES AN ALERT AGAINST CHILDREN AND TEEN SEXUAL EXPLOITATION A PRODUCTION BY SPONSORS SUPPORT - TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CREATION AND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ORIGINAL SCORE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY We started doing things together my friend and I My friend already knew she was already on the road It was natural for her to be on the side of the road To be at the gate of her house My friend had already taken me to a few places I started getting to know a few places Places I had been to with my mother when she was a prostitute, you know? Then I thought, “if my friend does it I don't have that option too” So, we started going places together The road is an anonymous place People are away from their hometowns They feel free to be in a situation where they will not be discovered or pointed out There are no acquaintances around Often, a truck driver who drives the same route for months or years doesn’t want to be involved Because he is known at gas stations and communities where he stays over Anonymous people benefit from this sexual market Only it is hard to know who they are We have no access to these clients in leisure vehicles They access the same market that supplies all clients equally, only they are invisible The girls are not on the road offering themselves There are certain places where this occurs When I worked for the government at the capital We collaborated with federal police and ministries To create a map showing the scheme, coordination and places where these youngsters were being sold In these studies there are restaurant owners, gas stations, management and so on The sexual exploitation of children and teenagers in Brazilian highways has been one of our long term researches For over 20 years we have been gathering information about this issue The turning point was when PESTRAF started to challenge our research to be more specific So we began specific research with truck drivers Those who were on the road every day who know the reality of day to day life Who are travelling all the time In partnership with an University we started going out to our highways to gather knowledge We weren’t looking for a guilty party or the prevalence of the problem The idea was to understand this environment and the system So that we could start thinking about a solution WELCOME! What is my main concern as a journalist who reports on people who live day to day on the road?
When we see children on the road or on a fixed spot on the road The concern is that children shouldn’t be on the streets They should be elsewhere or studying In your opinion, when you see children and teenagers on the road… Who do you think is also there? Is it the truck divers? The truck driver has a family, like you said.
Everyone here has a family. I have a twelve-year-old daughter at home - So she is a pre-teenager. - Yes.
Realistically, when you see them you know They are usually minors So you see this teenager, Those who have kids know these things… you think of your own child There was a very drunk man at a restaurant And he wanted to take this girl by force to his car and she didn’t want to go No one said anything People thought it was a couple arguing Was she a teenager? She looked to be around seventeen, but the man wanted to take her No one interfered thinking it was a couple arguing Until she asked for help, that’s when I stepped in He wanted to fight me We pushed each other around She ran inside the restaurant and got the owner, he was a big guy He told the stranger to leave or he would call the police I’m not going to say I was never involved with women on the road, I have But is like you said Every day we learn something You start to notice that what you are doing is wrong Today my advice to anyone is: if you have the opportunity to study, do it Most kids play during their childhood They play and then they study I never had a relationship with my father I never met him My uncle took care of us My mom was a drug user They drank and stole but took care of four of us Fridays to Mondays she hit me the most That’s when she used drugs and drank the most She'd say, "you don't have the courage to leave this house" I answered, “Yes, I do” Once she kicked my entire face that's when I left home It was three or for in the morning I was 11 I knew I wasn’t coming back because having already been so much in the streets I had discovered other life paths HAVE A NICE TRIP When we compare sexual abuse and sexual exploitation The comparison is a bit complicated On one hand, every sexual violence is considered abuse But sexual exploitation is more specific It involves elements beyond sexual relations between two or more people It involves exchange, It has an economic factor It has a commercial dimension And often it has third party involved Who is not the person actually involved in the sexual act Violence begins with vulnerability Violence begins with several factors that lead to sexual violence The social vulnerability we are currently living Has been going on for decades and it’s growing This happens due to a lack of prevention policies Lack of social awareness society sees violence as a natural way of life It’s normal to see violence even more so in bad neighborhoods In small towns in the northeast or north People really see it as normal Our society tends to think “It’s only violence when I suffer it” When it happens to someone else we think that’s their problem. Maybe they even let it happen.
No one wants to suffer violence in the mornings They want to have breakfast But society started to see it as a natural thing and it is really heavy and pejorative and it shows You see a child or teenager that suffered violence and a large percentage of people will say the child is at fault There is a strong social strand Gender inequality we currently live in Brazil and even globally Facilitates sexual exploitation especially for girls Boys have been increasing in numbers but girls are still the main target Economics in Brazil play a part social inequality is another factor There are other contributing factors First, in Brazil and in this entire continent There is an extremely sexist culture It implies that any man or teenage boy can do as he pleases Regarding girls and other young people Secondly, and contradictorily, in a country where the majority of the population is of African descent It is a racist country It is a profoundly racist country There is a law that makes racism a criminal act It is in the constitution Children of African and Indigenous descent are the target for this form of racism So evidently, sexually exploited children belong precisely to those social groups I decided to live in the streets The first time I really didn’t have a place to stay I found a trash container in a butcher’s shop I slept on top of it That was the worst day for me I was at rock bottom That’s when I decided I had to do something with my life I simply couldn’t continue in that way Children and teenagers get confused about the role of the adult and in who they can trust Education must include: the role of an adult, sexuality What is right and wrong What is adequate or not We capacitate children and teenagers Who have the right to sexual development to protect themselves and establish limits “My body, my rules” to recognize potentially dangerous adults We enable them to confront the problem By teaching them their rights The school is the institution where children and teenagers spend most of their day, even their lives It is where we can establish an educational system for them to learn about who they are Learn about their bodies, how it develops Which parts of the body are public which are private How and what they may allow to happen Ultimately to put in place sex education Not only for boys and girls to learn about their bodies But to also to defend themselves To create awareness and help them notice when they may be at risk Prostitution is an independent non-transferable profession It may be exercised only by persons over the age of 18 and of sound mental capacity This is a person who has the freedom to choose what he or she wants to do, including sex Children and teenagers who have not yet reached the age of 18 Are not capable of making those decisions We went to several places and neighborhoods We had personal contacts People could come get us at home We could go to a person’s house or to a nearby motel I was difficult to check into a motel because I was very young I was 12 So you can see… Those were the types of things I went through because I didn’t have a place to sleep It is very sad to me, it brings me pain Because I was there, laying in bed and a man would be there… I had to be there because I had no place to sleep I thought, “I have no choice” I felt like trash. The main achievement after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the creation of a committee for this treaty formed by specialists After the convention, another important mark was the creation of UNICEF The United Nations Children’s Fund We must act in three fronts Cultural changes during childhood How the government may guarantee basic rights to ensure a healthy childhood And punishment for crimes already committed There were advancements after the creation of the Guardianship Council In Campinas I was one of the first collaborators, researching, debating Discovering where children were working what kind of work they were doing There were many changes during the 21 years of the Guardianship Council here in Campinas I visited over 65 countries There were nine regional inquiries with specialists, children and governments From that moment on it became much clearer That children are not mini-citizens with mini-rights They are children and teenagers with full rights The judge deferred me to a different shelter home It was much further from São Paulo There were no places to work in the streets No people to contact This shelter received me and taught me it helped me and empowered me I saw a different way of doing things I didn’t have to do what I did to make money Sure, I would make less money But I had a new path I didn’t have to do that anymore Talking to the people in the institution I explained that I didn’t want to sow or just be sitting there So they made a kitchen and I started working there I started to cook. I would make meals and earn money that way Cooking for the girls at the shelter Still I thought “I need to change…” “I don’t want to depend on people to live my life anymore” “I’m out!
I’m really going to change” That institution is now closed I’m one of the coordinators of the new association I show the girls that there are other paths We are still here The old shelter is gone but we are here We must unite because now it is ours It is ours. I always gather people who are on the road I’ve learned to do this I gather everyone and tell them that “Each of us can be a prevention agent” Does anyone know what a prevention agent is? there are signs that say “Minors Sexual exploitation” Cell phones help a lot now a days Social media helps I think it is well publicized – Yes.
Isn’t it? – Yes. It is changing a lot.
Pretty soon you may be called to have an informal chat at your driving company And people will approach the subject Because there is international pressure There is pressure here in Brazil and from all other the world We know that sexual exploitation has multiple factors and causes Because of that it needs a systemic intervention We seek to bring together a systemic intervention with government, companies and society Working together with method Where each will have a role within this context Each has a role in prevention a part in attacking the problem So that we can have results and a real chance to reduce the possibility of sexual exploitation in Brazil Prevention mean changes in creed Cultural changes Changes in the conception of childhood These changes should simultaneously happen with effective action from the Government An active protection system along with a functional educational sector and a functional health sector Children and teenagers are often in places that don't approach the subject If we talk about it daily where they already are Like schools where we can multiply transforming agents and processes Cultural venues, churches, youth centers and also, organized movements created by those children and teenagers we forget that they also organize themselves We must treat culture as a tool and means of transformation It is accessible We don’t need a lot to have artistic expression Paper and pen can be used for artistic expression It can be a way to reach the public It is a language that reaches young people It can bring us together to dialogue About rights, about how to overcome and prevent violence Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse are crimes that we can no longer tolerate We can’t close out eyes and pretend that is not happening right in front of us The shelter was my home It was my family I don’t want to people to think “Oh, poor her” or “That is so sad” I want to be a person that shows growth I want to be with them They are my family I’m their rock and they are mine I’m grateful for this place Where I am now, how far I’ve come What I have lived through… I think I’m… I think I’m fine.
