ERIC Number: EJ1188832
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2155-5834
EISSN: N/A
Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Missing Children in the Coastal Region of Sao Paulo State, Brazil
Gattás, Gilka Jorge Figaro; Figaro-Garcia, Claudia; Landini, Tatiana Savoia; Estes, Richard J.
Journal of Applied Research on Children, v3 n2 Article 10 2012
The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) has emerged as one of the world's most heinous crimes. The problem affects millions of children worldwide and no country or community is fully immune from its effects. This paper reports first generation research of the relationship that exists between CSEC and the phenomenon of missing children living in and around the coastal regions of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the country's richest State. Data are reported from interviews and case records of 64 children and adolescents, who were receiving care through a major youth serving non-governmental organization (NGO) located in the coastal city of Sao Vicente. Also, data about missing children and adolescents were collected from Police Reports -- a total of 858 Police Reports. In Brazil, prostitution is not a crime itself, however, the exploitation of prostitution is a crime. Therefore, the police have no information about children or adolescents in this situation, they only have information about the clients and exploiters. Thus, this investigation sought to accomplish two objectives: (1) to establish the relationship between missing and sexual exploited children; and (2) to sensitize police and child-serving authorities in both the governmental and nongovernmental sectors to the nature, extent, and seriousness of many unrecognized cases of CSEC and missing children that come to their attention. The observed results indicated that the missing children police report are significantly underestimated. They do not represent the number of children that run away and/or are involved in commercial sexual exploitation.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Crime, Sexual Abuse, Children, Adolescents, Sexuality, Child Abuse, At Risk Persons, Police, Victims of Crime, Nongovernmental Organizations
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Brazil
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A