"The sexual exploitation of children is one of the big dramas in our country,"
said Ely Harasawa, director of the News Agency for Children's Rights, speaking
at a recent event.
Brazil's government launched a campaign against child prostitution last week,
featuring television and radio spots as well as banners in the airports of
Carnival hot spots like Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Recife.
The International Labour Organisation, or ILO which tracks child Labour, does
not estimate how many Brazilian kids might be involved in prostitution because
most cases are not reported, said Renato Mendes, an ILO coordinator in Brazil.
"To see a child sexually exploited during Carnival and not to denounce it is
also a human rights violation," added Mendes.
The ILO's list of the worst kinds of child Labour includes prostitution,
drug-running, street peddling and domestic and farm Labour. Brazil also has a
problem with children being put to work in mines, often wildcat operations
located in the rough Amazon rain forest.
An estimated 2.5 million Brazilian children work, according to ILO estimates.
The country has been praised by international groups for lowering the number of
child Labour cases from 5 million in 1992.
