Childhood Brasil is the Brazilian chapter of the World Childhood Foundation (Childhood), an international organization created by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden in 1999 to protect children and let children be children. In addition to Brazil, Childhood has offices in Germany, United States, and Sweden, totaling more than 500 projects supported in 16 countries.
Childhood Brasil has fought for a childhood free from sexual abuse and exploitation for 13 years now. Throughout this time, the organization has operated strategically and excellently to confront this issue, in an integrated manner, jointly with companies, governments, organizations, and communities.
Childhood Brasil supports projects, develops regional and national programs, influences public policies, and changes the lives of many children and adolescents for the better. It also trains different agents, instructing what each of them may and can do to deal with this issue, promoting prevention and forming a protection network.
As a result of its consistent advocacy capacity, Childhood Brasil is a reference in mobilizing people, enhancing people’s awareness of the subject, and getting the cause to be more widely defended.
With its head office in São Paulo, Childhood Brasil is certified as a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest (OSCIP) and an Entity Promoter of Human Rights. Check the organization’s activity report and publications on www.childhood.org.br.
Acting strategically
With 19 programs of its own and having supported 94 projects to this date, Childhood Brasil has already benefitted over 1.3 million people, including children and adolescents, their families, and professionals working in different sectors.
Childhood Brasil is currently developing 12 programs of its own and supporting seven projects. The projects supported and the programs developed by the organization are grouped into four strategic axes:
1 – Pacts & Actions – To develop initiatives and mobilize the different sectors of society to act in favor of the cause.
On The Right Track Program – Launched in November 2006, the On The Right Track program proposes a set of integrated actions, involving the three sectors of society, to act more comprehensively and effectively in fighting child and adolescent sexual exploitation on Brazilian roads and highways. The Program was created based on a survey conducted with truckers from all over Brazil, and proposes a Corporate Pact, which already has more than 900 signatory companies.
Childhood Brasil also conducts initiatives in the field of sustainable tourism, through partnerships with governments and companies operating in this sector, such as Atlantica Hotels International, the Aldan Group, and the Government of the State of Pernambuco. It develops actions which encourage the adherence to the Code of Ethical Conduct in tourism against child and adolescent sexual exploitation, the sensitization of professionals as protection agents, and the training of young people for the job market.
The organization has also been putting its best efforts into structuring a program to have the sector of large civil construction works address the subject.
2- Capacity Building – to train professionals both as child and adolescent protection agents and multipliers.
Remaking Bonds Program – Launched by Childhood Brasil in 2005, in São José dos Campos (SP), the Remaking Bonds Program has already trained over 450 public agents in providing care and forwarding, in a qualified manner, the cases of child and adolescent domestic and sexual violence. In 2007, the city made the program a public policy to prevent sexual and domestic violence and enforce total protection for those children, adolescents, and families exposed to this situation.
Remaking Bonds Program – the Remaking Bonds Program integrates the Pernambuco Program Against Child and Adolescent Sexual Violence (PPEVS). It was launched in 2008, through the signing of a Cooperation Term with the Government of the State of Pernambuco, and covers 184 cities and towns with different projects.
Through partnerships with the state departments of Social Development and Human Rights, Education and Social Defense, the Remaking Bonds Program offers continuing education to the professionals of the protection network, including guardianship councils and individuals working in the fields of education, health, justice, public security, and social assistance, so that they can provide qualified and integrated assistance in cases of child and adolescent sexual violence. Today, this program benefits 90 cities and towns.
3 – Speak Out Brazil – To rely on communication as a strategy to inform, educate, and mobilize.
Tim Lopes Investigative Journalism Contest – held in partnership with the Childhood and Adolescence Rights News Agency Network (ANDI), the Tim Lopes Investigative Journalism Contest awards projects of articles on the topic of child and adolescent sexual exploitation and abuse. This award contributes to amplify and qualify the coverage of child and adolescent sexual violence by communication vehicles, offering accurate information and sensitizing society towards this issue. The 5th edition of this Contest, held in 2009-2010 and the first which counted on the participation of other Latin American countries, had the record number of 120 projects enrolled.
To prevent and cope with the so-called “online abuse” and child and adolescent pornography on the Internet, in 2007 Childhood Brasil released primer Safe Online Surfing, which targets parents and educators. Since 2006, the organization has also been investing in the defense and protection of children and adolescents on the virtual world, supporting the actions developed by SaferNet, Latin America’s only cybernetic crime reporting center.
In addition, Childhood Brasil conducts social awareness enhancement campaigns, stimulating and supporting audiovisual productions on the subject, such as the animated TV series What Is This Exploitation All About?, as well as films Stolen Dreams and Secret Affections.
4 – Law in Practice – To contribute to enforce the right to special protection for the children and adolescents victims or witnesses of sexual crimes.
Under the present model, the children and adolescents are heard approximately eight times during a legal procedure, and this repetition leads to the so-called “revictimization” and/or to “re-experiencing” the trauma.
With the objective of subsidizing the formulation of humanization policies regarding children’s and adolescents’ depositions in legal procedures, Childhood Brasil has been working hard to enforce the children’s and adolescents’ right to be heard in a special and protected manner in these cases. As an initiative never before conducted anywhere in the world, the organization surveyed data relative to the methods of taking depositions of children and adolescents in Brazil, as well as in dozens of other countries, to structure the study No-Fear Deposition – Non-revictimizing cultures and practices: a map of the experiences in taking special depositions of children and adolescents.
In May 2011, Childhood Brasil held the 1st National Meeting for Experiences of the Brazilian Judicial System in Taking Special Depositions of Children and Adolescents, which gathered the most important authorities and professionals of this field. Brazil now has 43 special rooms in 15 states equipped with video recording systems to register children’s and adolescents’ depositions.
October/2011
Press Relations – Profession Comunicações : 55 (11) 3816-3769 (fixo) e 6483-0282 (celular)
Esther Alvarenga – esther@profession.com.br / Isa Melaragno – isa@profession.com.br
