AWARENESS RAISING AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

International Labour Office

COLLECTION of Good Practices and Lessons Learned related to the prevention and elimination of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of girls, boys and adolescents

Programme for Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the Triple Border Area (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) AWARENESS RAISING AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

Arthur Oscar Guimarães

Marcia Anita Sprandel

Programme for Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the Triple Border Area (Argentina - Brazil - Paraguay) Copyright © International Labour Organization 2005 First published 2005 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Publications Bureau (Rights and Permissions), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered in the United Kingdom with the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP [Fax: (+44) (0)20 7631 5500; email: [email protected]], in the United States with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 [Fax: (+1) (978) 750 4470; email: [email protected]] or in other countries with associated Reproduction Rights Organizations, may make photocopies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose.

GUIMARAES, Arthur Oscar y SPRANDEL, Marcia Anita ILO/IPEC. Collection of good practices and lessons learned related to the prevention and elimination of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of girls, boys and adolescents: AWARENESS RAISING AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Asunción: ILO, 2005. 198p.Child labour, Good practices, Prevention, Sexual exploitation, hazardous work, Girl, Children, programme frameworks, institution building, methodology, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, ILO Pub. 02.02.1 ISSN: 92-2-117884-6 (Print) ISBN: 92-2-117885-4 (Web Pdf) ISSN: 92-2-117890-0 (Print Complete Collection) ISBN: 92-2-117891-9 (Web Pdf Complete Collection) ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. Reference to names of firms and commercial products and processes does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office, and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or process is not a sign of disapproval. ILO publications can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO local offices in many countries, or direct from ILO Publications, International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland. Catalogues or lists of new publications are available free of charge from the above address, or by email: [email protected] ILO publications can be obtained in Las Flores 295, San Isidro, Lima 27-Peru, or through PO Box 14-124, Lima, Peru. Visit our website: www.oit.org.pe/ipec Printed in Paraguay Funding for this publication was provided by the United States Department of Labor. This publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the United States Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the United States Government. AWARENESS RAISING AND

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

4 Index

Foreword ______7 Summary of Acronyms ______9 Executive summary ______11 Chronology of Actions of the Project for Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border and its Progress (2001-2005) ______12 Good Practices in Institutional Strengthening ______30 The Establishment of a Law Enforcement Working Group ______32 Institutional Strengthening: Lessons Learned ______33 Awareness Raising: A Good Practice Model in Argentina ______35 Awareness Raising - Model of Good Practice in Brazil ______37 Awareness Raising - Model of Good Practice in Paraguay ______38 Awareness Raising - Lessons learned ______39 riple Border Area Conclusions and Next Steps ______40 1. Introduction ______45 2. Objectives and Methodology ______53 2.1. Types of Documents Consulted ______53 2.2. Key Informants ______54 2.3. Geographical Areas Covered ______55 2.4. Limitations ______55

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 5 3. Strategies and Methodologies for Institutional Strengthening______59 3.1. Chronology of Activities of the Project for the Prevention and Elimination of Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border and its Immediate Developments (2001-2005) _____ 61 3.2. Evaluation ______81 Chart 1 - Institutional strengthening actions ______82 Chart 2 - Organizations participating in the Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu ______83 Chart 3 - Institutions participating in the Local Committee of Ciudad del Este ______84 Chart 4 - Composition of the Local Committee of Puerto Iguazú ______85

Chart 5 - Cultural and Historical Differences ______86 AWARENESS RAISING AND Chart 6 - Action Plans ______88 Chart 7 - Objectives of the Luz de Infância Programme ____90 Chart 8 - Foz do Iguaçu Reference Center Network ______91 Chart 9 - Ciudad del Este Action Programmes ______92 INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Chart 10 - Capacity-building actions performed ______93 Chart 11 - Punishment Actions______95 3.3. Developments ______96 3.4. Good Practices ______101 3.4.1 The Network-Building Process ______102 3.4.2. Establishment of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Group ______106 3.5. Lessons Learned 112 4. Awareness-Raising Strategies and Methodology ______125 4.1. Local and National Impact ______149 4.2. Model of Good Practice in Argentina ______149 4.3. Model of Good Practice in Brazil ______155 4.4. Model of Good Practice in Paraguay ______157 5. Conclusions and Next Steps ______163 Bibliography ______167 Annex ______171 Annex 1: Inventory of communication material for the project: Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents on the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border ______171 Annex 2: Selection of drawings ______197

6 Foreword

The book you are holding in your hands is part of a series of publications on lessons learned and good practices related to prevention and elimination of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. This series is a product of a project carried out under the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) of the International Labour Office (ILO) with financing provided by the United States Department of Labor on the triple border between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay from September 2001 to October 2005. This project stemmed from the unanimous adoption of ILO Convention 182 (in 1999) against the worst forms of child labour. This Convention regards sale, trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents as slavery-like practices and calls on all Member states to take urgent and immediate steps to prohibit and eliminate them.

riple Border Area During its implementation, the project in the triple border area has accumulated a large number of lessons learned and good practices that would be useful in helping Member states in this area. This book compiles lessons learned and good practices related to awareness raising and institutional strengthening. In addition to providing a chronology of the project in these two components, it analyzes the local context and culture, as well as rights and wrongs of the adopted strategies for awareness raising and institutional strengthening in order to combat and prevent

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 7 commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescent in this triple border area. The series also includes a document related to enforcement of the law about sexual exploitation of children in Argentina and Paraguay and a similar one about Brazil. In addition, there are also studies on lessons learned and good practices related to support to families in the generation of alternative sources of income generation and about strategies of prevention and protection of girls, boys and adolescents in commercial sexual exploitation. It is our hope that this book will be useful in the struggle to prevent the recruitment of children and adolescents into different forms of commercial sexual exploitation, in protecting and ensuring the rights of victims, and in the suppression and punishment of their exploiters, not only in the

AWARENESS RAISING AND three countries involved in the project, but also in other parts of the world.

Paraguay, September 2005 INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

8 Summary of Acronyms

ABRAJI Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism ACERTRAPACE Association of Passenger Transport Enterprises of Ciudad del Este ACIFI Commercial and Industrial Association of Foz do Iguaçú AECI Spanish Agency for International Cooperation AFA Aliança Fraternity Association ANDI Child Rights News Agency AP Action Programme APAMAP Foundation for the Care of Disabled Persons AREPEEM Regional Association of Presidents of APM´s (Teacher- Parent Association) BBCA Education Base for Community Support CAIA Integral Support Center for the Adolescent CDE Ciudad del Este CDIA Coordinating Office for Children’s Rights CEAPRA Center for Care, Prevention and Follow-up for Children CEDEDICA Defense Center for Children’s Rights CIRANDA News Center for Children’s Rights CIRD Investigation Center for Development Resources COAP/Criança Center of Operational Support for the Children’s Prosecutor’s Office CODENIs Child Rights Council riple Border Area CONAETI National Commission for the Elimination of Child Labour CONANDA National Council for Child Rights CPI Parliamentary Investigation Committee CPMI Mixed Parliamentary Investigation Committee CR Reference Center CSEC Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents CTA Chief Technical Advisor DED Design, Evaluation and Database (IPEC section) DST Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 9 ECA Child and Adolescent Statute FENAJ National Journalist Federation GERCO Special Organized Crime Repression Group IPEC International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour MERCOSUL Southern Common Market (name used in Brazil) MERCOSUR Southern Common Market (name used in Spanish) MP Public Ministry MPT Ministry of Labour NASA Centre for Solidarity-Based Actions on AIDS NUCRIA Protection Center for Victims of Violence towards Children OIT International Labour Organization OG´s Governmental Organizations NGO´s Non-Governmental Organizations PAIR Programme of “Integrated Actions and References for Tackling

Sexual Violence against Children on Brazilian Territory” AWARENESS RAISING AND PETI Child Labour Eradication Programme PIC Criminal Investigation Prosecutor PPA Pluriannual Plan PR Paraná (Brazilian Federal State)

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING PREALPA Prevention Alto Paraná PRODOC Project Document RAS Rapid Assessment REDNAMI National Network for Care to Abused Children RIS Network of Solidary Institutions SCNSA Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Society SEBRAE Brazilian Support Service to Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises SEDH Special Department for Human Rights SENAC National Service for Commercial Training SENAI National Service for Industrial Training SRL Society with Limited Responsibility TID Domestic Child Labour TV Television UDC Dynamic Union of Cataratas Colleges UNIAMERICA American Union Colleges UNIOESTE West Paraná State University UNICEF United Nations Children´s Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development VG Vulnerable Group

10 Executive summary

The objective of the present document s to identify good practices and lessons learned since the Project at the triple border was first launched in 2001. This evaluation is essential for the Projects that seek to eradicate child trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation that ILO/IPEC has been implementing in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe since the late 90s. Good practices are defined as anything that contributes to fighting the trafficking of children for labour or commercial sexual exploitation purposes, either totally or partially, and could impact on their practice and implementation elsewhere at any level. The term “good practices” is used in a broad sense, as shown by the testimonies of the staff involved in the Projects or by the documentation reviewed, in order to incorporate a general approach, including identification, dissemination and use.

riple Border Area The ILO requested that a study be conducted to systematize good practices and lessons learned in the awareness raising and institutional strengthening of different public and private players and agencies in the Triple Border area. To achieve this, we analyzed documents; made contacts and held interviews; identified key players and other material including relevant information; analyzed products of awareness-raising campaigns; conducted interviews with players directly involved in Project implementation, opinion-makers, the target group, etc., in the areas of intervention as well as in Brasilia, Asunción and Posadas.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 11 Chronology of Actions of the Project for Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border and its Progress (2001-2005) With regard to institutional strengthening and awareness raising, it was expected that by the time the Project reached its conclusion, private, governmental and non-governmental institutions would be strengthened in their ability to formulate and implement actions to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, and to influence national, local and bi-national policies for the total elimination of the problem in the areas of intervention.

To achieve these objectives, a strategic component of the Project was AWARENESS RAISING AND to establish a Tri-National Committee (Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay), as well as inter-institutional committees in Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazu, the articulation of law enforcement operators, training of personnel and capacity building workshops for members of the different INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING institutions involved (Judiciary and Child Protection Councils, Forums, Children’s Judiciary Department, Justice Department, Inspectors, Policemen, City Halls, Trade unions, NGOs, etc). Awareness raising campaigns were envisaged in both countries1. We arranged the Project’s implementation process in chronological order in an effort to see how many of these goals have been achieved. October 30th, 2001 - After making preliminary contacts with federal and state authorities, the ILO/IPEC presented the Project to the Foz do Iguaçu Local Government. They committed themselves to forming a joint venture with ILO through the Children’s Secretariat, which was already managing two federal projects: Child Labour Eradication (PETI)2 and the Sentinela Programme3, which was still being developed. In addition to the Local Government, the Programme was also presented to different segments of the local population: the Judiciary Council, Nosso Lar Foundation, Municipal Health Council, Municipal Health Secretariat, Municipal Social Assistance, SINECOFI, SINEFI, SISMUFI, the army, Federal Police, Municipal Guard, Military Police, Pastorale of Minors, Children’s Secretariat, Social Action Secretariat, Judiciary. In February, 2002, when Sentinela was established in the city, the Children’s Secretariat held a capacity building and

12 action planning workshop. The Municipal Guard, the Municipal Council for Social Assistance and public agencies also participated alongside the Sentinela team. From November 25-30th, 2001 – “The Worst Forms of Child Labour” Seminar took place in Asunción, organized by the Ministry of Justice and Labour and ILO/IPEC. IPEC specialists presented projects to be implemented in Paraguay: the prevention and elimination of child domestic labour and commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu. End of 2001 – IPEC presented the Project to different agencies and institutions in Ciudad del Este. January to March, 2002- A rapid diagnosis was performed in Ciudad del Este, where 101 victims of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents were interviewed, among others. Indicators showed an increase in the problem in terms of the number of victims, as well as a deterioration of living conditions. The study called attention to the issue of perpetrators and trafficking networks. February, 2002 - Establishment of the Local Committee of Ciudad del Este and of the Sentinela Programme in Foz do Iguaçu. February-March, 2002– Study of the institutional offer conducted in Ciudad del Este. The study was turned into a national survey. Its conclusions were that there were no public policies related to this topic and that institutional response was found to be still very circumspect. Problems of resource shortages and conceptual harmonization were being faced in the non-governmental sector, as well as ideological differences. The study defended the development of a national plan against commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents was. February to April, 2002 - Rapid diagnosis realized in Foz do Iguaçu, where 27 key witnesses, 21 families of exploited children and 60

riple Border Area girls, boys and adolescents were interviewed. The conclusions were that sexually exploited boys, girls and adolescents live in a situation of social-economic and psychological risk. Data indicate the existence of trafficking of children, adolescents and women in this area, which is also connected to drug and arms trafficking and organized crime. Evidence of sexual tourism was also found, although the topic was still taboo in the city. At the same time, a study of the institutional offer was realized. The conclusion was that notwithstanding the existence of several institutional points

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 13 for denunciation, housing, prevention, treatment and qualification, there was not enough specialized labour to deal with the problem. Furthermore, because it was not considered a priority, it was not part of the city’s social budget, and even less so on the police agenda. March 6, 2002 – Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu set up. April 16, 2002 - After only two months of activity, Sentinela announces having attended to 26 girls, boys and adolescents. April 27, 2002 – In Foz do Iguaçu, the Child Protection Council4 and Federal Police realize a preventive operation on the Ponte da Amizade5, with the goal of hindering the trafficking, illegal trade and migration of minors. A number of 54 youths was removed

from the streets. AWARENESS RAISING AND Beginning of May, 2002 - First large offensive to introduce the topic in Foz do Iguaçu, the 18th of May being the National Day against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Brazil. Local newspapers announced a few days before that INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Sentinela would distribute pamphlets at traffic lights with the slogan “Do not be an accomplice to this crime, denounce! SOS Child 0800-45-1407” and that the ILO Project would commemorate the event, disseminating the national slogan “Forgetting is allowing; remembering is fighting”. On the same days, the Health Secretariat and Nucleus of Solidary Action towards AIDS (NASA) announced the “Cinderella of the Streets” project in the press, directed towards controlling HIV and STDs among sex professionals. May 18, 2002 - The headlines of the Gazeta do Iguaçu newspaper announces: “Foz repudiates child sex exploitation”. A public act is announced at the Praça das Nações Square, with joint promotion by ILO, Sentinela, The Child Protection Council, and the Children’s and Adolescents’ Secretariat. The article gives the national and local Denunciation Hotline numbers. June 2002 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu announces the registration of 1,313 cases of violence against children in 2002. There were 36 cases of sexual violence in 2000, 41 in 2001 and 15 during the first semester of 2002. The same month, the Action Plans in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este are announced, and Argentina joins the project in the “Seminar for the Formulation of

14 the Operation Plan for Countries of the MERCOSUR for the definition of common policies to eradicate Child Labour” held in Buenos Aires, with the support of IPEC. July 1-3, 2002- Seminar on “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Triple Border between Argentina/ Brazil/Paraguay: Actions for its Prevention and Eradication” in Ciudad del Este. During the seminar, studies on institutional offers, rapid assessments and legal studies from Brazil and Paraguay were released. The press highlighted the future creation of reference centers and the meeting’s final document. Argentina was represented by national authorities and members of social institutions from Puerto Iguazu. The final document of the event, called the Ciudad del Este Charter, defends the signing of a trilateral agreement for the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. August 6, 2002 - The first meeting of the Bi-National Committee takes place in Foz do Iguaçu. Argentina establishes its Local Committee. The Tri-National Committee is formed. Still at the beginning of August, Sentinela announces having removed 124 boys, girls and adolescents from the streets since it was established in February. September 17, 2002– Workshop of the Local Committee of Puerto Iguazu with a CONAETI technical team; first steps towards the creation of the “Luz da Infância” Programme. October 29, 2002 – Realization in Ciudad del Este of a workshop on: “The Role of the Communicator in Tackling the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents”, promoted by the Journalist Trade union /Upper Paraná Section. October 2002 - Realization of a “Capacity Building workshop for Agents Working to Prevent Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu”, for teachers, students and

riple Border Area parents (promoted by ILO, the State Education Network of Foz do Iguaçu, the Regional Nucleus of Education and the Municipal Child Secretariat). During the same month, a communication campaign starts in Paraguay. November 12, 2002 - What would become the landmark case in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents at the Triple Border takes place in Foz do Iguaçu. The Child Protection Council catches a Paraguayan driver having sexual

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 15 intercourse with an Argentinian adolescent in his truck. Her agent, also Argentinean, is present. After being taken to the police station, the adults are released, and the child remains in the custody of the Child Protection Council. Outraged, the counselors publicly accuse the civil police of involvement in the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. In response, the police delegate maintains that the Child Protection Council is not authorized to interfere in crimes handled by the police. The Child Protection Council denounces them to the Department of Justice. At the beginning of December, the Municipal Council for Child and Adolescent Rights holds public audiences at the Chamber of the City Council regarding the standardization of proceedings in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and

adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu. The Justice Department, Judiciary AWARENESS RAISING AND and security-related bodies are invited. This case also facilitates a common action of the Tri-National Committee, since 30 institutional representatives, members of the Local Committees of the three countries, are present at the meeting in Ciudad del Este and a INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING letter of denunciation is formulated. This letter is sent to the ministerial and diplomatic authorities and to local and state governments of the three countries by the respective local committees. November 20, 2002 - During the soccer match between the Club Olimpia of Paraguay and the River Plate team of Uruguay, Olimpia players entered the field with a banner with the slogan of the communication campaign in Paraguay “Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a crime.... and it shall be paid for”. December 8, 2002 - On the Day of the Virgencita de Caacupé, the patron saint of Paraguay, agents of the Pastoral handed out small images of the Virgin with a prayer for sexually exploited girls, boys and adolescents. December 10, 2002 - Official beginning of the Programme “Prevention and Integral Care for Commercially Sexually Exploited Boys, Girls and Adolescents in Ciudad del Este”, with the implementing agency being the Pastoral of Accompaniment of Children and Adolescents of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este. Supported by IPEC, Itaipu Bi- nacional, the Municipality of Ciudad del Este and Tesai Foundation. The same date (10 December 2002) - Official beginning of the programme for the “Prevention and Integral Care for Commercially

16 Sexually Exploited Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu”, the executive agency being the Civil Society of Nossa Señora Aparecida –SCNSA, with support from IPEC, the Municipality of Foz do Iguaçu, Nosso Lar Foundation, Fraternidade Aliança Association (AFA), Nucleus of Solidary Action for AIDS (NASA), Little Guard of Foz do Iguaçu and SEBRAE. Inauguration of Reference Center 3 / Redescobrir. December 11, 2002 - “Workshop on Commercial Sexual Exploitation” at the UN Office in Asunción for journalists, opinion makers and communication science students. Joint action with the “Workshop on Domestic Child Labour”. November and December, 2002 - The Paraguay communication team visits Asunción’s main newspaper offices with explanatory material on the Project and soliciting the dissemination of news about the campaign. Directors of communications companies were also visited to support the release. In November and December FM and AM radio micro-programmes and TV spots were broadcast for free. At the same time, the coordinators of the communication campaign took part in nine FM and AM radio broadcasts and six TV programmes. The communication campaign in Asunción ended in March 2003. January 15, 2003 - The Paraguay communications team begins its work in Ciudad del Este, together with the local press, transmitting radio micro-programmes and disseminating classified ads for awareness-raising. It also meets the Municipal Comptroller to deal with the distribution of printed material for the campaign on the streets and on urban buses. A meeting with the Association of Passenger Transport Enterprises of Ciudad del Este (ASETRAPACE) was held specifically with regard to buses. The communication campaign in Ciudad del Este ended in March 2003. January, 2003 - Sentinela joins the Reference Center Network in Foz riple Border Area do Iguaçu. At the end of January, the Child Protection Council announces that 7,000 cases of violence against girls, boys and adolescents had been dealt with in 2002, with 180 being the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. ILO presents a “Journalists’ Guide” to the press in February, also in Foz do Iguaçu. February 12, 2003 - A communications team from Paraguay organizes a breakfast for the press from Alto Paraná (Ciudad del Este,

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) Presidente Franco and Hernandarias). 17 February, 2003 - A Police Station for Women and Tourists is established in Foz do Iguaçu. March 19, 2003 –The “Programme for Integral Care for Children and Adolescents Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation” is launched in Foz do Iguaçu. This is an initiative of the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Society, which is maintained through support from ILO and 20 governmental and non-governmental agencies. At that time, Reference Centers 1 (Sentinela), 2 (Poly-ambulatory unit), and 3 (Redescobrir) were already operating. Besides these three Reference Centers, other units of the Network, like Guarda Mirim, Casa Albergue Infanto-Juvenil Feminino, Fundação Nosso Lar, Councils and other governmental and non-governmental programmes supported the attendance of girls, boys and adolescents in situations of commercial sexual exploitation. AWARENESS RAISING AND On the same date (19 March 2003) - Launching of two action programmes in Ciudad del Este. One of them was to be

implemented by the Diocese/ Pastoral of the Child (In collaboration INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING with four other institutions), setting up a Centre of Prevention and Integral Care (CEAPRA) and the other one by Fundación Esperanza, for income generation programmes for families (adults and adolescents). The inauguration of the CEAPRA took place the same day. The official opening was presided over by the Bishop of Ciudad del Este, with the presence of the judge for Childhood and Adolescence issues, as well as representatives from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. On this occasion it was announced that the resources would come from ILO, Itaipu Corporation and from the Municipality of Ciudad del Este. April 1, 2003 - Official starting date of the Subregional IPEC Programme “Luz da Infancia Programme for the Prevention and Eradication of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children“, to be implemented in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Expected end date: September, 2005. Implementing Agency: Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. April, 10 & 11, 2003 - Realization of the ”Midterm Evaluation Seminar” in Foz do Iguaçu, with the participation of Local Committees and authorities from three countries. The Foz do Iguaçu press announces that a campaign for the prevention and fight against commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents will be launched on May 18, headed by CIRANDA - Central News Office for Children’s

18 and Adolescents’ Rights6, which will propose the formation of a “system to protect against child sexual exploitation networks”. April 27, 2003 - The Jornal do Brasil newspaper publishes an article about the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. In the article, the Secretariat for Social Policies of the Ministry for Assistance and Social Promotion states that the “successful experience of the fight against prostitution at the Brazil-Paraguay- Argentina triple border shall help determine the direction of the Lula Government’s policy to tackle the problem throughout the entire country”. April 29, 2003 - The Coordinator for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CDIA), ILO/IPEC and UNICEF present the “operational matrix” for the “National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents in Paraguay”. End of April, 2003 - Capacity-building courses are given in Foz do Iguaçu for monitors of the Programme for the Eradication of Child Labour (PETI). April, 2003 – The electronic newsletter Network Action7, edited by CIRANDA, begins its circulation on the web. The same month, the “Legal Room” is established at Reference Center 3/Sentinela in Foz do Iguaçu. May 9, 2003 - A meeting between members of the Action Programme and the hotel sector is held at the Iguassu Convention & Visitors Bureau in Foz do Iguaçu. Participants of this event include the Municipal Travel Council, hotel worker and tour guide trade unions, and business people. May 16, 2003 - The hydroelectric company Itaipu Bi-national announces that it will support CIRANDA’s campaign, two days before the mobilization effort of May 18 in Foz do Iguaçu. May 18, 2003 –The campaign of the Network against Commercial Sexual riple Border Area Exploitation of Children and Adolescents is launched in Foz do Iguaçu, with the participation of representatives from civil society, government bodies and the Governor of the State. As an initiative of the Public Ministry of Labour, part of the launching was the hotel sector’s signing of “Terms of Adhesion” to the campaign to combat commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. The next day, a mobilization effort to support the Protection Network took place on the streets of Foz do Iguaçu with the participation of 500 people.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 19 May 29, 2003 - During an investigation, child pornography was found in a home at the Residential Quarter of the Country Club in Ciudad del Este. There were four adolescent victims, three of whom were Brazilian. The denunciation was delivered by CEAPRA to the Justice Department. June 12, 2003 - On the World Day against Child Labour, which this year was dedicated to the trafficking of boys, girls and adolescents, local committees from the three countries occupied the Ponte da Amizade (Friendship Bridge). The local press covered the event extensively and a Term of Adhesion was signed by the Mayors of Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguaçu. On the same day in Geneva, the Chief Technical Advisor of the Project and a representative of the local committee of Foz do Iguaçu

AWARENESS RAISING AND were participating in a panel discussion at ILO headquarters during the International Labour Conference, presenting some results of the work at the Triple Border. A video was shown on the problems

of the border, with the testimonies of several local players, such as INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING the President of the Itaipu Trade union in Paraguay. The Border Project was selected to show Latin American experiences in fighting child trafficking. Three other experiences of IPEC in the fight against child trafficking in Africa and Asia were also presented by the panel. End of June, 2003 - An person involved in international trafficking of girls was arrested in Foz do Iguaçu. This is considered a landmark for punitive actions. Mid-July 2003 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu succeeds in rescuing two Brazilian girls from a brothel in Los Cedrales (Paraguay), with the support of the Public Prosecutor in Ciudad del Este and the Paraguayan National Police. July 23, 2003 - A meeting is held between Itaipu and representatives from 30 Brazilian and Paraguayan entities and institutions that are active in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. The goal is to map out all actions developed thus far and list the main difficulties and problems being faced. July, 2003 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu announces that, after the launching of the campaign, the denunciation of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents increased 400%.

20 August, 2003 - A Task Force to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents is launched, with the participation of the Ministry of Labour, the Child Protection Council, the Federal Police and the Civil Police. The delegate for Tourists and Women announces a blitz at a massage parlor in Foz do Iguaçu. Capacity building workshops conducted for policemen. September 5, 2003 - Capacity building workshops conducted for 250 teachers from zones I, II, III in Ciudad del Este, with support from the Department of Educational Supervision (or Pedagogy) of the Ministry of Education and Culture. September 17 to 18, 2003 - The experience of the Project at the Triple Border is presented at the National Seminar on Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in Brasília. October 2-4, 2003 - Activities of the Mixed Parliamentary Investigative Commission on Sexual Exploitation in Foz do Iguaçu. October 9, 2003 - Itaipu launches a campaign for the Fight against Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Boys, Girls and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu, focusing on Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazú. On this occasion, hotel owners sign a term of adhesion to the network and Itaipu signs agreements with SENAC, SENAI and the Institute of Technology and Information and IT, for the training of adolescents removed from the streets and their family members. Another agreement is signed with ILO, to conduct awareness raising workshops for health department agents, tourism professionals (travel agents, guides, taxi drivers and motor cycle delivery boys). In the afternoon of the same day, a public audience of the CPMI on Sexual Exploitation is held in the city. October 12, 2003 - Itaipu organizes a party for 10,000 children in Foz do Iguaçu. October 18, 2003 - Launching of the Itaipu media campaign in Ciudad

riple Border Area del Este. October, 2003 - The Special Group for the Prevention of Organized Crime (GERCO) is created in Foz do Iguaçu, integrating the Civil and Military Police and Justice Department. October, 2003 - Capacity building for policemen and schoolteachers in Foz do Iguaçu. November, 2003 - New implementation phase of the Luz de Infancia Programme in Puerto Iguazú.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 21 November 25, 2003 - On Non-Violence Day, the Protection Network launches the Itaipu Communication Campaign in Ciudad del Este. On this occasion, agreements are signed between Itaipu, the local networks and the Mayors of Ciudad del Este, Hernandárias, Presidente Franco and Mingua Guazu for the development of joint actions to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. On the square (former airport) 1,200 boys, girls and adolescents from the city schools gather together, wearing the “network against sexual abuse and exploitation” t-shirt, the slogan of the campaign. This activity was organized by the Network and by the Education Supervision (or Pedagogy) Department. The Coordinating Director of Itaipu participates in the event. November 27, 2003 - The Paraguayan House of Representatives approves the ratification of ILO Convention 138 (Law 2322 of AWARENESS RAISING AND December, 19, 2003). November, 2003 - Capacity building for policemen in Ciudad del Este.

December 3, 2003 –“Joint Action of Law Enforcement Operators at INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING the Triple Border” workshop in Foz do Iguaçu. December 4 and 5, 2003 - Seminar on “Progress and Challenges of the Networks against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Triple Border - 2004 Work Plan” in Foz do Iguaçu. Visit from North American senators. New members join the tourist sector in November. December 23, 2003 - The National Secretariat for Children and Adolescents in Paraguay incorporates the National Plan against CSEC as a sector plan within the Policies for Children and Adolescents. February 13 and 20, 2004 - Capacity building workshops held in Curitiba for journalists on how to use the Journalists’ Guide. February, 2004 - The workshops of the Network of Solidarity Institutions (RIS)8 begin, with the aim of strengthening the actions of the committees from Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este, and to define strategies for subsequent efforts. The actions of RIS were financed by ILO. February 23 to March 5, 2004 - Juan Petit, the UN Special Reporter on Child Trafficking, Prostitution and Infant Pornography visits Paraguay.

22 March 27, 2004 - The Local Inter-Sectoral Committee of Puerto Iguazú realizes its first session of the year since its reorganization. March, 2004 - The Action Programme in Foz do Iguaçu graduates the first groups of families from the Entrepreneurship Course. Altogether 156 people graduate including parents and adolescents. Training of the Foz do Iguaçu Municipal Guard on March 8, 9, 10 and 12. April, 16, 2004 - Itaipu promotes the 6th Meeting of the Network against Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Ciudad del Este, with the participation of Brazilians and Paraguayans. The General Consul of Brazil in Paraguay and several Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities, besides the UNICEF Representative in São Paulo, also attend the event. The latter declares that “UNICEF believes in the work being done at the border, with its widespread and powerful organization9”. At the meeting, Paraguay accepts to keep May 18th as the National Day against Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in Paraguay. At the same event, Itaipu presents the campaign seal to be distributed to 60 Brazilian hotels that had signed the Term of Adhesion and Commitment proposed by the Prosecutor of the Public Ministry of Labour, Margaret Matos de Carvalho, in 2003. April 28-30, 2004 - Members of Local Committees from the three countries take part in the Seminar “Weaving the Future - Workshop on Good Practices in the Fight against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Latin America and the Caribbean”, realized in Cartagena, Colombia. April, 2004 - Creation of the “Network for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Upper Paraná” in Paraguay, to tackle problems affecting girls, boys and adolescents in general. The Network’s main objective is to stimulate the participation and joint actions of different segments of society (citizens, politicians, entrepreneurs, civil organizations, government, trade unions, associations, schools riple Border Area and universities). January to April 2004 - Realization of the Local Study of Puerto Iguazú. Four CSEC modalities were identified in Puerto Iguazú (i) networks that recruit youngsters for brothels, (ii) procurement services at hotels, (iii) working street children who are commercially exploited for sexual purposes and (iv) attraction centres for young boys and girls. Initially denied, the CSEC problem brought to light cases of sexual violence, abuse and incest. An important observation made

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 23 by the Argentinean team was that as long as violations or abuses are not considered a crime, CSEC will be justified for economic reasons, as it is perceived as a form of child labour, but as understandable due to the dire situation of the family. May 17, 2004 - Opening of the National Week of the Fight against Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu, promoted by the local committee in Iguaçu with support from ILO and ITAIPU, at the amphitheatre of Unioeste. Participation of the Minister for Children and Adolescents of Paraguay. The 30 hotels in the city that had already trained their staff received the plaque, to be displayed in their establishment. It was announced that the 60 other hotels that signed the Term of Adhesion to the cause would train their staff and receive the “Tourism Seal” by October 12. At this occasion, 300 municipal guards were given the AWARENESS RAISING AND “Seal of Distinction” for their training and for taking excellent care of tourists and victims of this type of crime. Over 1200 Journalists’ Guides were distributed by CIRANDA to journalists and journalism

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING students at workshops, in editorial rooms and at the UDC/Foz do Iguaçu University. May, 2004 (Foz do Iguaçu) - A show for the public, with plays and dance presentations promoted by the Casa do Teatro to celebrate the National Day. Activities are concentrated in the Porto Meira district. It is the launching and beginning of the activities of the Mobile Unit. May 18, 2004 (Curitiba) - The Ministry of Justice of Paraná announces the establishment of the Public Prosecutor’s Office dedicated to fighting crimes against girls, boys and adolescents. An agreement between the Special Human Rights Secretariat (SEDH) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Paraná is announced, so that information from the national Denunciation Hotline service for Paraná can be directed to the Centre for Operational Support in the Public Prosecutors’ Office for Children and Adolescents (COAP/ Criança) in Curitiba. Moreover, the Judiciary announces the creation of a Criminal Court specializing in crimes committed against boys, girls and adolescents. The Paraná State Governor announces the establishment of a Police Station specializing in crimes committed against individuals below 18 years of age, the Nucleus for the Protection of Children and Adolescents who are Victims of Violence - NUCRIA.

24 May 18, 2004 (Brasília) -‘Celebration of the National Day against Sexual Abuse and Exploitation at the Presidential Palace (Palácio do Planalto). Official ILO launching of the book “Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Legislations of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay: harmonizing alternatives for the MERCOSUR”10 (in Portuguese) by Márcia Anita Sprandel, Henrique José Antão de Carvalho and Adriana Mourão Romero. On that same occasion, Itaipu Bi-National and the Special Secretariat for Human Rights sign a technical agreement on implementing a Programme against sexual exploitation and against the trafficking of girls, boys and adolescents on the Triple Border. May 31, 2004 - By Decree Nr. 2616, the President of the Republic of Paraguay declares the celebrations regarding the World Day against Child Labour to be of national interest. June 8, 2004 - Decree Nr.2645 approves the “National Plan to Prevent and Eradicate Child Labour and Protection of Adolescents at Work” in Paraguay. June 9, 2004 - Itaipu Bi-National has a meeting with representatives of social assistance agencies in order to develop Strategic Planning Actions of the Network to Combat the Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu. June 10, 2004 - 300 schoolchildren take part in a public activity in Ciudad del Este, exhibiting their drawings with slogans against child labour and in favor of the rights of boys, girls and adolescents. June 12, 2004 - At the World Day against Child Labour, children of schools from Zone 3 of Ciudad del Este say “NO to labour and YES to recreation and to a safe and happy childhood” in their drawings. June 23, 2004 - Presentation of the book “Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Legislations of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay: Harmonizing Alternatives for the MERCOSUR”11 (in

riple Border Area Spanish) by Marcia Anita Sprandel, Henrique José Antão de Carvalho and Adriana Mourão Romero in Ciudad del Este. A total of 67 people participate in the event, the majority being attorneys. Among them are 45 members of the Judiciary (chamber members, judges, attorneys) and 10 from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. July 7, 2004 - In Brasília, the final CPMI (Parliamentary Mixed Commission of Inquiry) Report on Sexual Exploitation is read. The report mentions two cases investigated in Foz do Iguaçu and one

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 25 in Hernandárias. Sent to the Brazilian government, the CPMI suggests that an agreement be urgently signed between the countries of the Triple Border in order to make the criminals who promote the trafficking of women and adolescents for sexual exploitation responsible for their acts, to strengthen the resources of the Federal Police in Foz do Iguaçu and to recognize and maintain the social responsibility initiatives of Itaipu. The CPMI report also made important proposals for changes in the Brazilian Penal Code. July 22, 2004 - Itaipu launches the Escola Cidadã scholarship for 300 families and about 900 children in Foz do Iguaçu. The monthly subsidy is R$ 75,00. The objective is to guarantee school attendance of children aged 6 to 14 and to reduce child labour in the city. The project is a partnership between Itaipu and the NGO Missão Criança.

AWARENESS RAISING AND July 26, 2004 –It is announced in Brazil that the topic of the second Tim Lopez contest for Investigative Journalism (promoted by ANDI, UNICEF, ILO, Fenaj and Abraji) will be sexual abuse and exploitation.

August 3, 2004 - Meeting of the Law Enforcement Working Group - INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING created in Ciudad del Este, with the participation of workers from Brazil and Argentina. August 4, 2004 - In Foz do Iguaçu, Itaipu and UNICEF launch the “Strengthened Brazilian Family” Project, which consists in the distribution of educational pamphlets by members of the Pastoral of the Child and community agents. August 23, 2004 - In Argentina, a new technical team takes over the “Luz da Infancia” Programme. Establishment of the Reception Office for denunciations and information on victims of commercial sexual exploitation or girls, boys and adolescents at risk. August, 2004 - Official conclusion of the Action Programme for the Prevention and Integral Care for Boys, Girls and Adolescents in Situations of Commercial Sexual Exploitation, through training and income generation of their family members in Ciudad del Este12. Official conclusion of the Action Programme of Integral Care of Children and Adolescents in Circumstances of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Foz do Iguaçu13. September 16, 2004 - The Child Protection Council, after receiving a denunciation, apprehends a Foz do Iguaçu travel agent for corruption of minors. The accused had entered a motel followed

26 by a 13-year-old girl, a 15-year-old adolescent, plus another girl, aged 16. September 28, 2004 - Capacity building seminar for Law Enforcement Operators in Ciudad del Este. Participation of the Committee of Puerto Iguazú. That same day, the Child Protection Council announces that it has answered 30,000 calls during its 10 years of activity. Two out of every ten calls involved children who were being sexually abused by adults. September, 2004 - Conclusion, in Foz do Iguaçu, of the activities of the Action Programme for the Integral Care for Children and Adolescents in a Situation of Commercial Sexual Exploitation. November 17, 2004 - Signature of Terms of Commitment by motel owners and presidents of taxi driver cooperatives and trade unions in Foz do Iguaçu with the Ministry of Labour. November 15, 2004 - The technical team of the Luz da Infância Programme has a meeting with UNICEF representatives in Argentina. November 20, 2004 - Capacity building for the press (oral and written media) in Puerto Iguazu. December 2, 2004 - Inauguration of the Center for Reference and Attention to Women in Situation of Sexual Violence “Rejane dal Bó”, in Foz de Iguaçu. This house had been requested by the Women’s Policy Station, and Itaipu Bi-National offered a new space adapted to the center’s needs. The Programme “Esperança e Vida” (“Hope and Life”) is implemented by NGO Casa Familia Maria Porta do Céu. December 9, 2004 - Capacity building for tour operators in Ciudad del Este, with the participation of Local Committees from Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este.

riple Border Area December 10, 2004 - Capacity building for journalists (oral and written media) in Puerto Iguazu. December 13, 2004 - Signing of Terms of Commitment with tourism sectors of Ciudad del Este. December 13 to 15, 2004 - Training of tourism operators of the hotel sector in Ciudad del Este. December 15, 2004 - In Foz do Iguaçu, establishment of the Nucleus for the Protection of Child and Adolescent Victims of Sexual

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 27 Exploitation and Abuse/NUCRIA, by the State Governor of Paraná, idealized in 2003 by the local committee of Foz do Iguaçu, CIRANDA and ILO. January, 2005 - Launching of the Acordar (Awaken) Programme in Foz do Iguaçu. Reformulation of the Action Programme, developed by four entities working simultaneously. The Nossa Senhora Aparecida civil society is responsible for the programme’s management. It also takes care of health issues through a poly- ambulatory unit and offers professional training workshops to victims and family members. The Nucleus of Solidary Action to AIDS (NASA) is responsible for approaching children on the streets or in loco, in brothels. The Casa do Teatro offers workshops in five locations that are considered critical - Profilurb, Morumbi, Três Lagoas, Cidade Nova and downtown. Since January, 786 boys, AWARENESS RAISING AND girls and adolescents have already participated in or are participating in workshops, the main objective of these being prevention. Another partner of the Programme is the Nosso Lar

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Foundation, working in family care, mainly in psychological matters. In order to rescue the adolescents who have been victimized, the Acordar Programme focuses on work with the family. March, 2005 - At a meeting with Brazilian Consulate representatives in Puerto Iguazu, the Mayor of Foz do Iguaçu announces that the meetings of the Foz do Iguaçu/Puerto Iguazu14 Border Committee, which last took place in 1998, will be resumed. The Brazilian diplomats proposed a joint action between the Brazil/Paraguay/ Argentina border cities to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents with the goal of harmonizing the municipal legislation of the three countries regarding punishment for this type of crime. They also proposed that the city councilmen of Foz, Puerto Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este, Hernandárias and Puerto Franco have joint sessions to discuss heavy punitive laws for those who commit such crimes. March 2, 2005 - Workshop in Puerto Iguazu for the Formulation of the Trilateral Plan of Cooperation between Local Governments, Committees and Law Enforcement Operators, to implement policies to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents in the Triple Border area. March 4, 2005 - Workshop in Foz do Iguaçu for the Formulation of the Trilateral Plan of Cooperation between Local Governments,

28 Committees and Law Enforcement Operators, to implement policies to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents in the Triple Border area. March 9, 2005 - Workshop in Ciudad del Este for the Formulation of the Trilateral Plan of Cooperation between Local Governments, Committees and Law Enforcement Operators, to implement policies against the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the Triple Border region. March 16, 2005 - Task force against child labour and the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents on the Friendship Bridge (Ponte da Amizade) and in the Jardim Jupira and Vila Pontes areas, in a joint action of the Municipal Guard, SOS Criança, Federal Police, Civil Police/NUCRIA, Adolescent Police, Child Protection Council and Federal Highway Police. A parallel operation occurred in Ciudad del Este. Bodies of the two cities involved in this operation aim to strengthen cooperation mechanisms. March 22, 2005 - In Paraguay, Decree nr. 49514 approves a list of hazardous child labour, including “work implying transfer to other countries and periodic transit across national borders” and “modeling work with eroticization of the image which may result in psychological abuse, early sexual stimulation and risk of sexual abuse”. March 29, 2005 - Inauguration of the “Project for the Integral Protection and Promotion of Childhood and Adolescence”, in Hernandarias, Paraguay. Launched by the National Secretariat for Children and Adolescents of Paraguay, in partnership with Itaipu Bi-National. This is the first government action taken by the country in the fight against the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. The initiative forms part of the Tri-national Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. On this occasion, the Brazilian Special Secretary for Human Rights, Nilmário Miranda, announces a meeting in riple Border Area Asunción (Paraguay), set to take place on May 8 and 9, to discuss the fight against sexual exploitation and to which the Argentinean government will also be invited to develop a joint effort. The Secretary was also introduced to the Acordar Programme, a project that is being financed by SEDH since January. Since its launching, approximately 1,000 people have received support, 786 of which are participating in prevention activities, like art, music and circus workshops. SEDH invested R$ 650.000,00 to finance the

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 29 Programme for a year. Itaipu Bi-National supports the programme as well. March, 2005 - Meeting of law enforcement operators at the Triple Border. April 19, 2005 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu, in partnership with Paraguayan authorities, removes 612 boys, girls and adolescents from the streets, who were crossing the Friendship Bridge (Ponte da Amizade) irregularly. Those under 13 years are directed to PETI, and youths from 14 do 18 years are brought to the Guarda Mirim (“Little Guard”), where they receive professional training support and will be referred to the labour market. This action was jointly carried out with representatives of the “Protection Network for Children and Adolescents of Upper Paraná” and of CEAPRA of Paraguay. Sixty Paraguayan adolescents were identified.

AWARENESS RAISING AND May 12 and 13, 2005 –A Seminar for the Development of the Trilateral Plan of Cooperation for the implementation of policies in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and

adolescents takes place in Foz do Iguaçu with over 100 INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING representatives from the three border cities. On the first day, law enforcement operators analyzed and discussed suggestions already presented in previous seminars in the three countries. The following day, governments, committees and law enforcement operators evaluate proposals for cooperation mechanisms for fighting CSEC and develop a Guide for Procedures in the Border Area. A Monitoring Committee, responsible for the supervision of the signed document, is also established.

Good Practices in Institutional Strengthening GOOD PRACTICE NR 1 NETWORKING: a) Local Network against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu and b) Local Network for the Protection of Children and Adolescents from Upper Paraná in Ciudad del Este. GOOD PRACTICE NR 2 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT WORK GROUP Since the identification of Good Practices is considered an essential exercise for the design of models of intervention, prevention, protection and rehabilitation that may be duplicated in different contexts, we decided to select at least one such practice that could be useful for other international border areas. 30 Networking The establishment of networks had been envisaged since the beginning of project implementation. Among the main objectives of the committees was the establishment of a “Protection Network” to counteract the‘“Exploitation Network”. The concept of the network (in this sense) was undoubtedly new for the area15. There are numerous reports on this subject: “Having NGOs working closely together with Governmental Organizations (GOs) was very important. Although there had been many efforts to do so, it had never actually happened before. ILO was an outside element that provided the problem with visibility.” (Member of the Local Committee of Ciudad del Este). “The network’s engagement was very important. The different agencies then began to truly interact. Prior to this, we had all been working separately. The agencies realized that we were all facing the same problem and that it was necessary to join forces. Today we know, “I can count on that agency for help”. Before, we had never been inclined to work together.” (Member of the Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu). As a result of these experiences, it was possible to create the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu in May 2003. This network had representatives from civil society as well as from government agencies, with hundreds of representatives throughout the state of Paraná. It was created as a result of a campaign lead by CIRANDA, which proposed the establishment of a “protection network against a network of sexual exploitation of children”, supported by the concerted action of five sectors: education; communication; sport and leisure; tourism and security.

riple Border Area A much larger network was created in Ciudad del Este that goes beyond commercial sexual exploitation. It incorporated other institutions (asylums, hostels, women’s groups, churches). Moreover, it is a department-based network (for the entire Upper Paraná Department) that fights for the rights of girls, boys and adolescents. It is called the Upper Paraná Protection Network for Children and Adolescents. According to the testimony of members of the Foz do Iguaçu Programme, it may be observed that, even with all the difficulties of working in

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) networks, the situation is changing: 31 “Today we identify problems at the border area and go back to the problems of that tri-national seminar in 2002. Declarations made by the committee participants show that the group matured as a result of the debates. We also are analyzing a proposal for a tri-national Observatory. The group has made a lot of progress. Three years ago we talked about caring for the child victim. Today we are talking about caring for families. Players have changed. We don’t start from zero anymore. It starts at the local level. We have made a tremendous leap.” Along similar lines, a Paraguayan member of the Action Programme in Ciudad del Este considers the establishment of the network and its development as being a positive aspect of the programme:

AWARENESS RAISING AND “The establishment of a Network for Protecting the Rights of Children and Adolescents led to the formation of CSEC Committees and the Hostel Network. The latter was formed

at CEAPRA’s request, as they felt that institutions, especially INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING judges, some inspectors and the Codeni were constantly sending in under-aged victims, who were not part of the programme‘s target population. The Hostel Network was formed for that reason, with its respective profiles for the selection and timely attention to the cases.” In both cases, the concept of networks, despite the numerous difficulties, is being assimilated and incorporated by local players, with countless gains in the long run.

The Establishment of a Law Enforcement Working Group The law enforcement group has played an important role since the beginning of project implementation. All their experience in fighting CSEC was systematized in a workshop for the “Coordinated Action of the Law Enforcement Working Group at the Triple Border” held in December, 2003, in Foz do Iguaçu. Representatives from the police, judges in cases involving boys, girls and adolescents, inspectors/state department officials, immigration, customs, children’s rights councils, local governments and consulates - all participated. On this occasion, the results of the comparative study prepared by consultants recruited by the Project16 on the legislations of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay were presented.

32 The Law Enforcement Working Group drafted a Trilateral Cooperation Plan between the local governments, committees and relevant players for the implementation of policies to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the Triple Border Area. A seminar on this topic was held on May 12 and 13, 2005 in Foz do Iguaçu, with excellent results. The first day of the seminar, law enforcement operators from each country demonstrated the functioning of denunciation, investigation, punishment and victims’ rights in their respective countries. Through their efforts more progress was made than during earlier attempts to harmonize legislations. Each country explained how their institutions and legislation work. Furthermore, participants left the event knowing exactly to whom to appeal (which institution, name of person responsible, telephone numbers, etc.) in the case of crimes involving children and/or aggressors from another country. It is now inadmissible to consider any national or MERCOSUR policy involving the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents, without taking into account the Law Enforcement Group and their regulations, thanks to this Project. This is also relevant for a broader agenda, including the trafficking of human beings and illegal immigration. Huge challenges lie ahead, and require constant capacity building in terms of human rights, but the Law Enforcement Group will know - better than many of its counterparts elsewhere - how to address them, with the strength and competence allowed by the combination of local knowledge and international cooperation.

Institutional Strengthening: Lessons Learned Based on an analysis of interviews and documents, we identified the following “lessons learned”: the local players’ lack of knowledge regarding the complexity of the problem; the plastercasting of actions due to ILO schedules and planning; the functioning of local committees; the importance of capacity building; the need for articulated action with

riple Border Area public policies; difficulties in hiring qualified staff; lack of time and work methodology. “What was overly harmful to the work was ILO’s financial and bureaucratic ‘plastercasting’ ”. (Member of the local committee, Ciudad del Este) “I’ve heard the following from several Committee members anxious about deadlines and the problem’s complexity: If you don’t know how to heal the wound, don’t meddle with it.” (ibidem)

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 33 The strained relationship between ILO and the members of Local Committees/Action Programmes is also obvious in interviews with members of the institution’s national offices. For some of them, the establishment of local offices was a mistake that resulted in undesired overlapping and competition between ILO and the Local Committees: “There should not be any local ILO offices. They start out by doing a lot, and end up supporting the local committee. (…) The Action Programme was to be executed by civil society. It is a huge problem that the office has been seen as an Action Programme. (…)ILO has played too great a role”. (ILO staff member) This situation was harmful to local institutional strengthening, but was partially justified by the needs of ILO staff to protect themselves under

AWARENESS RAISING AND the ILO umbrella when dealing with local affairs and authorities. It is important to remember that we are dealing with cities where confrontational relationships still predominate at the political and social

levels. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Time was one of the most relevant factors mentioned in the evaluation of lessons learned. Listening to reports by interviewees, one has the impression that there was a nearly unavoidable conflict between two perceptions of time, “ILO time”, and “local time”. The first was rational, pragmatic time, concerned with project implementation and meeting the proposed objectives and targets within a reasonable amount of time. Time brings with it the problem of achieving the targets. This was a factor that greatly upset the members of the Programme, mainly due to the number of children needing to be attended to and the number of people trained. In the case of Argentina, one of the main problems observed by members of the local committee was the institutionalization of the Programme within the Ministry of Labour. This greatly hindered the Committee’s organization and activities. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned was the perception that it was indeed possible to have an impact. Within their own perceptions of time, space, policy, and mobilization, the individuals and local institutions were able to have a unique experience of diagnosis, planning and action. They were, and still are, faced with major obstacles. For some, it is the lack of “political willingness“, for others, it is the lack of “social willingness”. What counts is that hundreds of people were mobilized around a single challenge, made mistakes and then hit their mark. They talked about their errors 34 and achievements. They will continue to communicate, breaking century- old barriers between the three countries. This is an extremely positive result that has been achieved in less than four years of Project activity.

Awareness Raising: A Good Practice Model in Argentina What seems to have had a major impact on the awareness raising process of the population of Puerto Iguazú as well as on the self-esteem of the Local Committee was the mobilization on the Ponte da Amizade. For the members of the Puerto Iguazu Local Committee, organizing schools and marching with children over the Friendship Bridge, going to an organized encounter with children from Brazil and Paraguay, each group bearing banners, flags and balloons with the colors of their country, was an unprecedented experience of institutional strengthening. In fact, the emotion of each adult and child is felt by anyone who watches images of the mobilization to this day. Portuguese and Spanish speakers announced the arrival of national delegations and informed the population about the event. Two paragliders flew overhead, carrying banners stating “A Border without Sexual Exploitation”, both in Portuguese and Spanish. The national anthems of the three nations were played. The most exciting moment was the meeting of the three flags, followed by the release of balloons with the national colors of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, to the music of “Amigos para Siempre” (Friends for Life) sung by Sarah Brightman and José Carreras. The Friendship Bridge had never before seen such a huge gathering of people, uniting the populations of all three countries. In the words of the members of the Local Committee of Puerto Iguazu, this made clear how much the city was involved in the mobilization: “We came in 10 buses with teachers and 500 students from all the different schools. The children had worked on the topic a week before at their schools. They brought riple Border Area posters and drawings. Radio stations from Argentina transmitted live, so that their parents could hear why their children were there!” For the children, the conviviality was exemplary: “Our children brought balloons without gas, while Brazilian and Paraguayan children brought gas-filled balloons. When the moment of letting the balloons go arrived, ours did not

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 35 fly. The Brazilian children took their balloons back, wrapped them together with Argentinean balloons and then let them go. It was beautiful! (…) The children held hands while singing “Amigos para Siempre” in Spanish and Portuguese. When they opened their hands, the balloons rose into the air….” In fact, the mobilization on the Friendship Bridge could be considered a good practice for any of the three countries, in terms of institutional strengthening as well as awareness raising, as the Friendship Bridge is a strong local symbol. Reports on the symbolism of the Friendship Bridge are all different. Upon occupying the bridge, local committee members were able to make the scenario a positive one, transforming it into a site for the defense of civic celebration and for the defense of human rights:

AWARENESS RAISING AND “Occupying the bridge made quite an impact! It was like a stamp: here we are and we will not leave anymore!” (Member of the Local Committee of Ciudad del Este) “The mobilization on the bridge was a huge news event, INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING with repercussions throughout the media of the Triple Border” (member of the Local Committee of Puerto Iguazú). “The three cities showed a great ability to mobilize at that moment. The bridge is always seen from a negative point of view.” (Member of the Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu) The cities involved in the Project have challenging political and social relations, which tend to stand above national and international efforts. In this sense, the presence of the mayors during the mobilization on the Friendship Bridge had great positive significance for the members of the Local Committees, for whom this gesture showed acknowledgement for the work that has been done thus far. The bridge, nevertheless, remains a great problem for the Local Committees, as summarized by journalist Vânia Welte from the CIRANDA team: “People got used to the bridge. They find it normal. They don’t see the bridge as something dangerous. The children of workers, of the poor, go to school, to work, but are also ‘mules17’ on the bridge. It is a dubious situation, justified by unemployment. Only, in this smuggling thing, there are drugs, there are weapons. And authorities are more

36 concerned with the trafficking of merchandise than of human beings. Nobody sees that.”

Awareness Raising - Model of Good Practice in Brazil CIRANDA’s campaign was undoubtedly the greatest example of good practice in Brazil, with regard to awareness raising. Launched on May 18, 2003, the “CIRANDA campaign”, was in fact part of the campaign carried out by the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. At the launching, representatives from civil society and government bodies, including the State Governor, gathered together. At this occasion, through an initiative of the Public Ministry of Labour, the hotel sector signed the “Term of Adhesion” to the campaign. The next day 500 people mobilized to show support for the Protection Network on the streets of Foz do Iguaçu. Adhesion of the Itaipu Bi-National Corporation was fundamental for the Project’s sustainability. In July, the company met with about 30 Brazilian and Paraguayan entities and institutions that were already active in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. The goal was to map actions that were already carried out and to record the main difficulties and problems being faced. That same month, the Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu announced that after the campaign was launched, denunciations of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents increased by 400%. The CIRANDA campaign developed into another one, this time headed by Itaipu. Launched on October 9, 2003, the campaign of the Fight against the Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents focused on Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazú. This launching was an important act both for the public and in the media, since members of Parliament of the CPMI on Sexual Exploitation, in addition to Argentinian and Paraguayan politicians, attended the event. riple Border Area On this occasion, hotel owners signed terms of adhesion to the network and Itaipu signed agreements with SENAC, SENAI, and the Institute of Technology and Information and IT, providing for training for adolescents removed from the streets, as well as their families. Another agreement was signed with ILO for the realization of awareness raising workshops for health agents, and the tourism sector (travel agents, guides, taxi drivers and motorcycle taxis). Within the context of the campaign, Itaipu promoted a party for 10,000 children in Foz de Iguazu on October 12th.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 37 A year after launching the CIRANDA campaign, 30 of the city’s hotels, that had trained their employees, received the “Tourism Seal” (Selo Turismo) plaque to be displayed in their establishments. The 300 municipal guards received the Seal of Distinction (Selo Destaque), for having been trained to take appropriate care of tourists and victims of that type of crime. Over 1,200 Guides for Journalists were distributed by CIRANDA to journalists and journalism students at newspaper offices and at the UDC College of Foz do Iguaçu. In Brasilia, Itaipu Bi-National and the Special Secretariat for Human Rights signed a technical cooperation agreement for the implementation and execution of the programme to fight the sexual exploitation and trafficking of girls, boys and adolescents at the Triple Border. In November 2003 the Terms of Commitment of motel owners and presidents of the Taxi Driver Cooperative and Trade union of Foz do Iguaçu were signed AWARENESS RAISING AND with the Public Ministry of Labour. The Acordar Programme is the most successful result of this campaign,

as it showed that the network finally started trying out walking on its INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING own feet, but still counting on ILO support.

Awareness Raising - Model of Good Practice in Paraguay Notwithstanding the success and quality of the communication campaign, in Paraguay what appears to have impressed the interviewees most was the work done with teachers of Ciudad del Este. One of the success factors in the capacity building effort was the fact that ILO had counted on the teachers of Ciudad del Este themselves for its implementation, as an lLO staff member in Ciudad Del Este explains: “We talked to five supervisors in the field of education. I provided the content and they provided the facilitation. They took over the Programme with a great deal of ownership. The rewards were huge! It was most effective! We used the department’s infrastructure: Supervisors/ School Principals/ Educational Area Directors. Each of them trained his/her teachers. Afterwards the teachers introduced the topic as a crosscutting topic to be worked on in class. Some also addressed the topic in Parent School classes.” Capacity building included the presentation of the CSEC problem within the framework of the worst forms of child labour, basic concepts that involve CSEC and the channeling of denunciations. A number of 1,208 38 teachers, 881 of whom were women (72%) and 327 men (28%), from 88 schools, attended the capacity building sessions. The majority were Primary School teachers. Over 80% of them were graduates in Teaching and Psychology or are taking courses on these subjects. The teachers work with different school levels and many teach two shifts. The 88 schools that participated in the training are from the Primary School level from educational regions 1, 2 and 3. These regions are made up by five zones and are coordinated by five supervisors and technical support staff. The schools that have received training teach up to the ninth grade, are on the verge of Educational Reform and have two or three shifts. They are socially and culturally heterogeneous schools, with most of the children aged 6 or 7 up to 15 or 17 years. Schoolchildren reacted to the teachers’ work very positively, according to what can be perceived from their drawings (Annex 2), as well as in their awareness that channels of denunciation and protection do exist: “The children do their work, organize exhibitions. When you come and talk to them, they know what it is about and know who denunciations must be forwarded to. Fear is decreasing.” In Foz do Iguaçu as well as in Puerto Iguaçu, as we saw, teacher qualification has been essential for the Project’s success and for fighting CSEC. The turning point in Ciudad del Este, however, were the Action Plans. The educational zones that participated in the capacity building developed different Action Plans. The Paraguayan Department of Education and Culture, through its Supervision Sector of Upper Paraná, supported all the development processes of action plans at the schools. During the planning workshop, the Supervision already incorporated the plans and created a mechanism for capacity building, information and monitoring of teachers, starting right at their schools.

Awareness Raising - Lessons learned The three countries agreed on the importance of capacity building. They riple Border Area concurred that problems are complex and that a simplistic and immediatistic kind of support should be avoided. As far as capacity building for families is concerned, it was observed that many of them only attended training sessions in order to receive food baskets or other material benefits. Furthermore, the level of participants’ professional and educational training is usually very low, rendering it extremely difficult to make them understand the values and teachings presented. Finally, the need for awareness raising in the neighbouring districts/

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) municipalities was generally observed in all three countries. 39 Conclusions and Next Steps The Project for the Prevention and Elimination of Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border Region had local, national and international repercussions. It was a multinational effort that needed to respond to the demands of three countries. It involved elements of International Law and, for the first time for IPEC, it produced a proposal of legislative harmonization. For advocacy, it was essential that Paraguay ratify the ILO 138 convention on minimum age. Another differential was the support of a large corporation of the magnitude of Itaipu Bi-National. Above all, the Triple Border Project started to be considered as a way of working at a border region, with other countries.

An analysis of good practices and lessons learned allowed the AWARENESS RAISING AND fundamental aspects to be identified and considered when implementing new projects. Most of the time, international agencies and the local population have a different perception of time, of policies, of social actions and of social urgency. In the specific case of the Triple Border, there is a INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING historical “daily way of life” that is difficult for non-border people to understand. For ILO, it is clear that capacity building is essential, especially when they involve‘“the best of the house”, as was the case with the teachers in Ciudad del Este. For the local population, it was the acknowledgement of the power of mobilization, like the taking over of the Friendship Bridge. Everyone involved recognized the importance of the support provided by the media, be it in campaigns, or in a network development process. Communication between law enforcement operators was essential in order to include in the discussions about CSEC and trafficking of human beings the perception of migration as a right. The analysis of good practices and lessons learned also facilitated the identification of some of the dilemmas faced by institutional strengthening in technical cooperation projects. There are tremendous institutional differences between agencies like ILO (that must fulfill a series of technical and administrative requirements to make project implementation feasible) and local institutions/entities with practically no previous experience in financing through international cooperation agencies. A lack of skills was perceived in handling projects based on logical frameworks that require the assessments and evidence for several qualitative and quantitative indicators. This created some tension in institutional relations.

40 ILO projects, or those of any other international agency, by no means intend to replace public policies. They, nevertheless, have to cope with local expectations in this area. In fact, projects are implemented, among other reasons, to create a demonstrable effect (in a micro-space), showing that certain problems can be solved, once all prerequisites are met. On the other hand, the local population has been the victim of public policies that are not being implemented to the end, and which lack technical, financial and administrative controls. Consequently, people are unfamiliar with account rendering, report revision procedures and so on. To change this state of affairs requires considerable investments in citizen awareness, including the awareness that demanding transparency from the government means that the effective mechanisms for achieving this transparency should be valid for all. In the words of a Brazilian expert, the Project knew, like the helmsman of a sailing ship, how to draw the map as new territories were being discovered. It lived the pains and the glory of being a pioneering Project in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the country. It thus became a reference for the development of public policies involving bi- or tri-national cooperation. The Project also succeeded in positioning the ILO in relation to the topic, providing it with programmatic, political and social legitimacy and action. Until then, the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents had just been perceived as a matter of human rights. The next steps will obviously depend on concrete actions based on Convention 182 inserted into government plans and budgets. It is essential that local players and their external mediators have a greater political presence in the development of pluriannual plans (PPA), in the same manner that the Project’s political advocacy was essential for changing legislation in the three countries. In this regard we perceive that there are still some problems as regards

riple Border Area building up autonomy in municipalities due to constraints in local empowerment. The dependence on governments is great, and resources are not continuous. Based on evaluations made by the relevant players in their reports and interviews, together with our reflections, it seems to us that the main lesson learned was the awareness that displacing the state from its central position is feasible, allowing society to act, taking into account its current and potential resources.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 41 We conclude this report by resuming the timeframe issue once more and by drawing a comparison between the Project and the “Hunger Campaign”. In the words of its coordinator, Herbert de Souza (also known as Betinho), the campaign was a project which would only end once all of society has mobilized and once public, agrarian and agricultural policies have been changed as well. In his own words: “The secret is that when you start changing things, the rest changes as well. But what is the point of proposing great structural changes, if we have not yet succeeded in changing the minimum: peoples’ minds, attitude, mentality?” (Herbert de Souza, Betinho. O Globo, 10/26/1993) Luiz Eduardo Soares, when analyzing the “Hunger Campaign” concluded his work with a reflection which could well have been made about the

AWARENESS RAISING AND Project for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents on the Argentina/Brazil/ Paraguay Border:

“The campaign has never achieved its objectives - after INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING all, that is what it was created for: to get us halfway, with a responsibility the size of Brazil in our hands, but with some new resources for rewriting our task and our methods.” 18 The Project may have as its greatest merit “getting us halfway on the path”: the Local Committees being confronted with a situation that cannot be hidden, and with new instruments to transform it. In conclusion, it can be said that the Triple Border region in Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) and Puerto Iguazu (Argentina) has reached a landmark today in terms of humanity, solidarity and development with a better, more just and harmonious prospect for current and future generations of girls, boys and adolescents. It can therefore be acknowledged that this is the result of positive actions and expectations: the before and after ILO.

42 1 N.T: Brazil and Paraguay 2 Federal government income transfer program for families of boys, girls and adolescents involved in child labour. 3 Joint specialized social and multi-professional actions directed towards children, adolescents and families involved with sexual violence. Specialized actions of care and immediate protection for girls, boys and adolescents are implemented on-site, such as education, specialized multi-professional care, psychological and judicial support, permanent monitoring, 24 hour shelter (if necessary) and an offer of back-up support to the rights guarantee system. 4 As per Art. 131 of the Child and Adolescent Statute, the Child Protection Council is a permanent and autonomous, non-jurisdictional body, nominated by society for looking after the compliance of the rights of boys, girls and adolescents. 5 N.T: Ponte da Amizade or the Friendship Bridge links Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este, in Paraguay. 6 Organization responsible for the contribution to the capacity building process for the mass media, and for the adaptation and dissemination of the campaign in Brazil. 7 Available at the website: www.ciranda.org.br. 8 Headquartered in a house provided for by the Itaipu Corporation, the network is formed by 16 social assistance entities run by Itaipu employees. RIS organizes professional capacity building courses for managers, volunteers and employees of partner associations. Additionally it grants guidance, assistance, consulting, advisory services, training and service delivery. Its purpose is to unite, strengthen and represent non-governmental organizations (NGOs), aiming at the qualification and professionalization of the Third (or social) Sector. Other objectives include: identifying solutions for common problems and strengthening institutions, aiming at their long term sustainability. 9 Municipal Press Division of Foz do Iguaçu, 19 April 2004 10 N.T: Original title “A Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes nas Legislações de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguai: alternativas de harmonização para o Mercosul 11 N.T: Original title “La explotación sexual de niños, niñas y adolescentes en las legislaciones de Argentina, Brasil y Paraguay: alternativas de armonización para el Mercosur 12 N.T: implemented by Fundación Esperanza 13 N.T: implemented by SCNSA 14 Border Committees are envisaged in MERCOSUR agreements. 15 The document on the Brazilian institutional offer states that, in national terms, it was only from 1996 onwards (the year of the promulgation of the Child and Adolescent Statute) that “campaigns, forefronts, and care networks intensified.

riple Border Area A network already existed as a point of reference in Paraguay, the National Network of Care in Cases of Child Abuse (REDNAMI), but was little known in the area. 16 A reference to the book The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay Legislations: harmonizing alternatives for the Mercosur, by Marcia Anita Sprandel, Henrique José Antão de Carvalho and Adriana Mourão Romero, published in Spanish and Portuguese. 17 N.T: slang for traffickers of drugs, arms and other illegal merchandise 18 SOARES, Luiz Eduardo. 1998. “A ‘campanha contra a fome’ como experimento radical”. In: O impacto social do trabalho das ONGs no Brasil. São Paulo, ABONG.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 43 AWARENESS RAISING AND

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

44 1. Introduction

The awareness-raising and institutional-strengthening components have been essential for the success of the Project for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay border, which was implemented from September 2001 to August 2005 by the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), financed by the United States Department of Labour. The institutions were strengthened mainly through the establishment of Local Committees in Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçú and Puerto de Iguazú (from February to August 2002). This was achieved by developing Action Plans and by creating a Working Team, in August 2004, of law enforcement agents from the three cities involved, for awareness raising,

riple Border Area communication campaigns and capacity-building workshops held in all three countries. It has frequently been observed that both components (awareness raising/institutional strengthening) mutually empower each other. In other words, the participation and commitment of the different institutions represented in the Local Committees improved with the expansion of the communication campaigns and capacity-building workshops.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 45 More than just listing the different components, the present study seeks to identify good practices and lessons learned, since the project was first launched in 2001. This kind of evaluation is essential for programmes that deal with the elimination of child labour, trafficking and sexual exploitation, such as those that ILO/IPEC has been implementing in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe since the late nineties. In the report Good Practices Collection / Trafficking in Children for Labour and Commercial Sexual Exploitation, ILO/IPEC recently listed regional projects that were used as departure points for identifying good practices, one of them being the Project for the “Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay)”. The document emphasizes that most of the studies done on programmes

AWARENESS RAISING AND that fight commercial sexual exploitation tend to list successful interventions without describing “what” works best or “why”. The identification of good practices is considered an essential exercise for creating models of intervention, prevention, protection and INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING rehabilitation that could be replicated in different contexts, provided specific conditions are observed. Keeping a record of good practices is also important for the institutional memory of ILO/IPEC, as it is a key element for later interventions. That is why a model questionnaire19 was designed by ILO/IPEC‘s Design, Evaluation and Database unit, to be completed by the managers of national projects. The objective is to compile a list of good practices, successful lessons and practical references for those who work with trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. In November 2003, the ILO/IPEC Vulnerable Group Unit (VG) compiled a list of experiences related to actions taken thus far. With outside collaboration from Silvia Biss, the purpose of the report was to collect selected examples of good practices at field implementation level and programme interventions that were effective and replicable in different contexts under specific conditions. It used as a reference the document Good Practices: Identification, Review, Structuring, Dissemination and Application that was prepared by the Design, Evaluation and Database (DED) section in October 2001 by the consultant Burt Perrin. Good practices are defined as anything that helps fight trafficking for labour or commercial sexual exploitation, either totally or partially, that may affect its practice and realization at any level, anywhere. The actual term “good practices” is used in the broader sense, as shown by 46 statements made by staff involved in the programmes, or by documentation, to incorporate a general approach, including identification, dissemination and use. In this respect, a good practice (1) is a practice at any level, (2) does not necessarily represent a project or a programme in its entirety, (3) may be a very specific activity or process, (4) represents something that becomes clear only after a comparison has been made between different scenarios, (5) is something that has been tried and proven to work well, (6) does not need to show definite “proof” of its effectiveness, and (7) must have the potential of stimulating new ideas or provide instructions on how to make them more effective. Efficiency of Implementation; Effectiveness; Ethical Condition; Relevance; Sustainability and Replicability are also taken into account when identifying good practices (potential or emerging). Once identified, good practices are grouped according to technical IPEC areas: Development of Policies and Legislation; Advocacy and Awareness Raising; Research and Knowledge Base; Capacity Building; Prevention through Education and Social Mobilization; Protection through Rescue, Rehabilitation and Reintegration. The Project for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Triple Border is mentioned in the report Good Practices Collection/Trafficking in Children for Labour Exploitation and Commercial Sexual Exploitation as being a model of a good practice in the category of “Protection through Rescue, Rehabilitation and Reintegration”. The good practice identified is the “Denunciation Hotline” Programme for rescuing victims of commercial sexual exploitation, which is part of the Programme for the Integral Care of Children in Situations of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Foz do Iguaçú, implemented by the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Society - SCNSA20. At the regional workshop, Weaving the Future: Good Practices in Fighting riple Border Area Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Cartagena de Indias in April 2004, the Brazilian Labour Department Public Prosecutor Margaret Matos presented a model of good practices regarding local policies: the signing of Terms of Commitment with hotels in Foz do Iguaçu, a joint initiative with the Local Committee. Before presenting the results of the evaluation of good practices based on an analysis of documents and interviews with civil society

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 47 representatives, government and law enforcement officers, and authorities from the three countries involved, it seemed essential to establish the context of the process from a sociological point of view. When analyzing the implementation of a sophisticated programme promoted by consultants and/or employees of the International Labour Office in Geneva, one must also consider that it was executed in a region divided by political and administrative borders as a result of wars and geopolitical disputes, whose cities are far from the national centers of power. The importance of the location of the project is also reflected in its design. Even its title has a spatial implication in the word: “border”, not to speak of the numerous references to the “triple border”. For the national imagery of the three countries, “border” and «triple border” immediately invoke not a situation, but an emotional experience

AWARENESS RAISING AND through more or less uncontrolled words or images, like those conveyed by the sensationalist press, propaganda or political gossip (BOURDIEU, 1997:159). So, the border in question in Brazilian imagery is

contaminated with the concept of marginality, between smuggling INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING (“muamba”) and car theft21. In Argentinian imagery, the border is a jungle area, atypical and distant22. For the Paraguayans, it is an area coveted for its fertile land and tax-free zone, which is threatened by the presence of thousands of Brazilian farmers (the so-called brasiguaios)23. For all three countries, “the border” is a place colonized by foreigners or strangers, not to speak of the historical antagonisms between them, having fought a bloody war marked by devastation and tragedy (The Paraguay War or the War of the Triple Alliance). Such prejudices and banal discourses will not simply die on the battlefield. Against the background of such an “imperialistic illusion”, Bourdieu says that the essential part of what is experienced and seen in the field has complementary principles elsewhere. The border, which is defined by the absence of security forces capable of fighting crime, social programmes, schools, hospitals, associations, etc., is normally observed from the distance, where the official programmes and plans are designed. In other words, the results of direct observation and local diagnoses cannot be taken into consideration without analyzing the complementary factor: the vision and actions emanating from capitals and centers of power. From the start of Project implementation, Local Committee members and local journalists declared that the problem of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents of both sexes would not be solved without tackling the problems of hunger and unemployment. To analyze

48 the impact and efficiency of campaigns marked by tenuous political mobilization and what we might call “social unwillingness”24, we could compare them to the “Hunger Campaign”, which was hugely successful in mobilizing Brazilian society in the early nineties. In his analysis, the reflections of Soares (1998) help us understand both the progress and problems of the campaigns executed in the Triple Border Area and their experiences with the mobilization of society by committees or networks. Soarez says that it is essential to understand the Hunger Campaign in order to adequately describe contemporary Brazilian civil society and the present stage of our political culture. After following the implementation of the Project for nearly four years, and having just three municipalities involved as a reference, we might confirm, although these are just impressions, that Soares´ analyses could also be used for Paraguay and Argentina. Identifying transverse networks and alliances engendered by the Hunger Campaign, Soares concludes that it is more productive to analyze the implications of cultural values, projects and interests of the actors involved, than to discuss the material results produced by the campaign. This is due to the fact that campaigns remain trapped in time if they do not impact on the socio-economic structures generating the exact phenomena they are seeking to eliminate (hunger, misery, social exclusion, commercial sexual exploitation of children)25. Soares also analyzes the frequent use of “they”, which the Brazilians use to indicate a diffused responsibility towards actions and decisions that elude the speaker and his interviewees. “They” are the elite, the politicians, the mighty, those who decide, realize and promote (or not) the changes necessary for altering the situation in question. In most instances, suggests the author, typical popular discourses guided by the “they” category, are not associated with questions like ‘how can we improve the situation of exploited youngsters, the quality of politicians, social injustice?’ One would be met with a refusal to analyze public

riple Border Area issues so as to arrive at a possible answer, with the participation of the subject of this discourse. The imaginary world and society’s attitude change when the picture of a child being sexually exploited on a shadowy street in exchange for a lollipop cuts deep into the soul. Just like when a spell is broken, it becomes a reality once the problem is denounced and publicized, switching on the light and lifting the veil to uncover the truth about the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents in the region.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 49 What was seen at the Triple Border, from September 2001 on, was a continuous, difficult attempt to destroy the passivity inherent to the subject and to construct the “we” that would return the relationship between subject-place, and subject -position to each individual, each actor, and each colective agency. The present work seeks to reproduce this process.

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50 19 It refers to the Action Programme Case Study Format for Proposing a Possible Good Practice, formed by four groups of questions: 1 What did the programme do? (which was the situation to be modified, what was the expected situation at the end of the project, which approach was chosen and why, what was the target group, what concrete results were expected at the end of the project); 2. What happened in the programme and why? (initiatives taken and activities carried out, results, achievements and observed changes, changes in attitude or situation of children/families/communities, results or changes observed, activities/main initiatives, evaluation of the target group about the initiatives, changes in the initial strategies of the programme, role of different actors and stakeholders in obtaining the results); 3. What was a good practice for this programme and why?; 4.Next steps – how to take thes good practices further? (if a good practice would benefit from further studies, if other types of intervention/initiatives would sustain the use or impact of this good practice, if exists any implication for child labour policies). 20 NGO that develops projects dealing with the overall health of the adolescent, with the Poli-Ambulatory Unit and the Center for the Integral Care of the Adolescent (CAIA), providing guidance, socio-familiar support, sports activities, culture, leisure and professional capacity building. 21 See O Brasil olha o Paraguai: nossos pobres textos culturais sobre um outro país latino-americano, by Marcia Sprandel. Brasília, UnB, mimeo, 1997. 22 See Nordeste argentino: a vida, o trabalho e as lutas de quem vive no “Coração do Mercosul”, by Marcia Anita Sprandel, João Pacheco de Oliveira Filho, Juan Carlos Radovich and Nora Julia Arias. Rio de Janeiro/ Buenos Aires, Museu Nacional-UFRJ/ UBA, December 1996. 23 See Brasiguaios: conflito e identidade em fronteiras internacionais, by Marcia Anita Sprandel. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacional, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social. Dissertação de Mestrado.Rio de Janeiro, 1992. 24 Expression used by the Chief Technical Advisor of the Project, Isa Ferreira, in an interview conducted in December 2004. 25 There is therefore, no qualitative judgement of the campaigns conducted (as an instrument able of changing a certain local reality) nor of the options of language, images, media, time, communication channels, etc. that were used. Such aspects are beyond the scope of this document.

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52 2. Objectives and Methodology

The ILO had requested that a study be done related to the systematization of good practices and lessons learned in the components of awareness raising and institutional strengthening of different public and private actors in the Triple Border Area. We thus performed procedures such as document analysis, made contacts and scheduled interviews, identified key informants and other relevant material and information, analyzed products used in awareness-raising campaigns, interviewed actors directly involved in project implementation, communicators, opinion makers, target group etc., in the areas of intervention and with some references in Brasilia, Asunción and Posadas.

2.1. Types of Documents Consulted The diversity of documents consulted formed a mosaic (or a mental puzzle) requiring the authors’ undivided attention to benefit from this

riple Border Area unusual characteristic. At no time was the rich source of information, albeit sometimes heterogeneous, found to be useless or disposable. Among the institutional documents used were activity reports, regular project reports and action plans, evaluations, manuals and IPEC orientation guidelines, references to other IPEC studies of good practices and lessons learned, sites and electronic bulletin boards, and capacity- building and awareness-raising manuals. All the other documents were

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 53 media-related (TV spots, radio programmes, stickers, posters, folders, and billboards). All of the material analyzed has been made available through ILO workshops in Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu, and by consultant Vânia Welte. Institutional documents have been essential for understanding the process of network building and institutional strengthening, which in this case include capacity building. Such documents, plus newspaper reports and interviews made it possible to put together a detailed history of the programme. Campaign material, which is analyzed in Chapter 4, has been inventoried for registration and consultation (see Annex). We did not receive any information from ILO project offices in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este as to the methods used and objectives for

AWARENESS RAISING AND collecting the newspaper articles. The fact that more news had been published by the Brazilian press than by Paraguayan newspapers, for example, does not necessarily mean that the latter had given less

consideration to the topic. Along similar lines, a single article that appeared INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING in the Puerto Iguaçu newspaper and was received by the authors, certainly does not reflect the local media’s coverage of the problem. In this sense, we preferred to use news as a source of data to establish the history of the actions. We thus used articles that referred to the Project and other institutional actions, separating them from those about crime. Whenever necessary, we sought complementary news on government agencies from the three countries on the Internet, as well as on non- governmental organizations.

2.2. Key Informants We divided the informants into four large groups. The first one consisted of individuals connected to the federal and judiciary branches of the three countries: Secretary of State for Human Rights, the Sentinela Programme, Justice Department, Foreign Affairs Department, Labour Department and National Forum for The Elimination of Child Labour (Brazil); Supreme Court Justice/ Human Rights Unit, Child Secretariat, Public Ministry /Fiscal Supervision and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Paraguay) and Ministry of Labour/CONAETI (Argentina). Brazilian Members of Parliament of the Joint Parliamentary Investigative Commission for Sexual Exploitation are included in the same group.

54 A second group consisted of additional Project consultants and support entities: Ciranda coordinators and members of the Public Labour Department (in Curitiba), the campaign team, the group that coordinated the development of the National Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Paraguay (Asunción), and the consultant from the University of Misiones (Posadas). The third group consists of members of local committees and networks including directors of Itaipu, the Police Department for Women and Tourists, Child Protection Council, Sentinela Programme, Juvenile Court, Federal Police and Public Department (in Foz do Iguaçu); Fiscal Department, Catholic University, Education and Culture Department, Superintendant of Fiscal Agents, Police Commissioner, Brazilian Consulate and Judiciary (in Ciudad del Este) and the Luz de Infancia Programme (in Puerto Iguazu). Finally, a fourth group consisting of representatives from other international agencies and employees of ILO offices in Brasilia and Asunción.

2.3. Geographical Areas Covered The study focuses on the cities of Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazu at the local level, and Brasilia and Curitiba (Brazil), Asunción (Paraguay), and Posadas (Province of Misiones/Argentina) at the national level.

2.4. Limitations Among the outputs expected at the final stage of project implementation are the realization, publication and dissemination of three other studies, with the aim of systematizing and documenting the key aspects of the experiences. The studies aim at systematizing good practices and lessons learned in the following areas: withdrawal and subsequent protection of riple Border Area children, law enforcement, and income generation alternatives for adolescents and families. Institutional strengthening and awareness raising are closely linked with all the other issues. For example, it is impossible to discuss institutional strengthening without taking into consideration action plans, and practical service-oriented actions, and the application of pressure to change legislations.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 55 Many documents were analyzed. Consultants had access not only to an annotated history of the entire programme of all three countries, but also to all the campaign and capacity-building material, newspaper articles, TV and radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, and recordings of important events. While internal programme documents (terms of reference, work plans and reports) were very top-down, the campaign- related material was so diffused that the best way to organize it was to put together an inventory. The first step in this direction was to organize the data chronologically, so that the report could also be used as a memorandum of the aspects of the programme being examined. Later on, after being analyzed by consultant Dominique Demellene, who conducted an intermediate evaluation in 2003, and after conducting some interviews, it was possible to focus on actions. AWARENESS RAISING AND With regard to interviews, the initial idea of realizing surveys in the areas covered by the Project was abandoned when it was perceived

that the stage that the actors were in (project’s final stage, institutional INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING changes in the making and questions of sustainability) was vulnerable to two types of methodology-related problems: the negative perception of the consultant as being yet another foreign evaluator, ready to identify the local actors’ possible faults, and the hypothesis that the interviews would be more confessional, whereby the consultant would risk getting involved in discussions and tensions between local groups. To avoid these sorts of problems, it was decided that interviews would be conducted by phone or e-mail. This made it possible to keep the critical distance necessary so that the information solicited and obtained would be more objective. Often the fact that the interviewer was not physically present enabled the interviewee to respond more sincerely and informally, which would not have been possible face to face. The moment of the survey, of the “withdrawal” of ILO from the area, and the strengthening of local networks also permitted interviewees to feel more comfortable in making criticisms. On the other hand, once they were motivated to point out examples of good practices, many of those interviewed realized how far they had come as an organized civil society in confronting the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the region. Finally, we would like to emphasize that the timeframe for executing the study was very short. To assess nearly four years of ILO and

56 committee activities would normally require much more time and dedication. Each individual project component (rapid assessment, analyses of institutional offers, legal studies, action plans, processes of creating committees and networks, communication campaigns) is complex, as are the social and political relationships that arise after their implementation, with topics and aspects that would have deserved in-depth academic studies by professionals from all three countries. Furthermore, the Project for the Prevention and Elimination of the Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Argentina/Brazil/ Paraguay Border was implemented in an extremely rich area from a historical point of view, and one that has been the object of innumerable socio-organizational plans, including those linked to cultural/national differences and illegal activities. It would be impossible, besides not being the main objective of this effort, to meet the manifold requirements of this social situation. Nevertheless, it is clear that the ILO experience at the Triple Border will still be the object of extensive studies, both in the academic world, as well as in the development, management and assessment of public policies. We sincerely hope that the present work will be useful to ILO and for future research.

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58 3. Strategies and Methodologies for Institutional Strengthening

With regard to institutional strengthening, it was expected that by the time of completion, the Project would have strengthened public, private, governmental and non-governmental institutions in their ability to formulate and implement actions for eliminating commercial child exploitation, and would also have influenced national, local and binational policies for the total eradication of the problem in the areas of intervention. To achieve these objectives, the strategic components of the Project expected to form a Trinational Commission (Brazil/Paraguay/Argentina); to establish local Committees in the cities of Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazu; to involve the different institutions concerned (Ministries, Rights Councils, Forums, Children’s Court, Ministry of Justice, Inspectors, Police officers, City Governments, Trade Unions, NGOs, etc.). To assess how many had been achieved, we decided to draw up and

riple Border Area analyze the chronology of the programme implementation process. It should be noted that there had been institutional-strengthening experiences related to this subject before. In response to a request by IPEC, the design for the Project’s initial draft began in 1999 in the border region together with Luna Nueva, an NGO in Asunción with experience both in the subject area and with ILO. The result was an initial diagnosis, with the identification of a group of actors from different institutions and the formulation of a strategic plan, which was the basis for formulating a PRODOC (Project Document).

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 59 However, of the three implementing Paraguayan agencies defined in the Project Document (Luna Nueva, Community Educational Support Base /BECA and the Center for the Investigation of Development Resources/CIRD), none got involved beyond the initial development work, since they were all based in Asunción. The need to identify and strengthen the local organizations became all the more clear. In the meantime, some organizations in Foz do Iguaçu had been involved in fighting the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents since 1995, but since they had no infrastructure and had also received several threats, they abandoned the effort. Experiences and resources for fighting the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents were non-existent in Ciudad del Este. The Project had to practically start from scratch. The APAMAP Foundation

AWARENESS RAISING AND for the Care of Disabled People, an institution known for their competence, took the responsibility of making initial contacts with the community, with the support of the Rotary Club. Thus, at the end of

2001, they succeeded in obtaining the participation of 50 public INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING organizations, NGOs, and trade unions. It was initially thought that in Puerto Iguazu the problem of sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents did not exist. The action programme in this city was financed by the Sub-Regional IPEC Programme for Mercosur countries and Chile according to an arrangement with the Argentinian Ministry of Labour, with resources from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation - AECI. Its implementation was very complicated due to changes in government and coordination processes between the Local Committee, the National Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour (CONAETI) and the Ministry of Labour.

60 3.1. Chronology of Activities of the Project for the Prevention and Elimination of Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Argentina/ Brazil/Paraguay Border and its Immediate Developments (2001-2005)

2001 October 30, 2001 - After preliminary contacts with federal and state authorities, ILO/IPEC presents the Project to the City Government of Foz do Iguaçu, which commits to forming a joint venture with ILO through the Children’s Secretariat that was already managing two federal projects: the Child Labour Eradication Programme (PETI)26 and the Sentinela Programme27, which was still being developed. A presentation is made to the City Government, and to several segments of the local population: the Judiciary Council, Nosso Lar Foundation, Municipal Health Council, Municipal Health Secretariat, Municipal Social Assistance, SINECOFI, SINEFI, SISMUFI, the Army, Federal Police, Municipal Guard, Military Police, Pastoral for Minors, Child Secretariat, Social Action Secretariat, Judicial Authority. In February 2002, when Sentinela was being established in the city, the Children’s Secretariat organized a team capacity-building and action-planning workshop with the participation of the Sentinela team, the Municipal Guard, the Municipal Council of Social Assistance and public agencies. November 25-30, 2001 - “The Worst Forms of Child Labour” Seminar realized in Asunción, organized by the Ministry of Justice and Labour and by ILO/IPEC. IPEC specialists present projects to be implemented in Paraguay: Prevention and

riple Border Area Elimination of Domestic Child Labour and Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu. End of 2001 - IPEC presents the programme to organizations and institutions of Ciudad del Este.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 61 2002 January-March, 2002 - Realization of a rapid assessment in Ciudad del Este, where 101 victims of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents and other informants are interviewed. Indicators show an increase in the problem in relation to the number of victims as well as a worsening of living conditions. The study calls attention to the problem of exploiters and trafficking networks. February, 2002 - Establishment of the Local Committee of Ciudad del Este. Establishment of the Sentinela Programme in Foz do Iguaçu. February-March, 2002 - Study of the institutional offer in Ciudad del Este, which ended up being a national survey. It concluded that no public policies for this subject existed and that AWARENESS RAISING AND institutional response was found to still be very minimal. In the non-governmental sector, there were problems of a shortage of resources and conceptual

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING harmonization, besides ideological heterogeneity. Defense of the organization of a national plan to fight commercial sexual child exploitation. February-April, 2002 - Rapid assessment realized in Foz do Iguaçu, where 27 key informants, 21 families of exploited children and 60 boys, girls and adolescents are interviewed. The conclusions were that sexually exploited children live in a situation of socio-economic and psychological risk. Data indicated the existence of trafficking of girls, boys, adolescents, and women in the region, in connection with drug and arms trafficking and organized crime. Evidence of sexual tourism was found, albeit the topic being taboo in the city. A study of the institutional offer was done at the same time, which concluded that despite the significant number of institutional arrangements set up for denunciations, shelter, prevention and treatment, as well as for capacity building, there were not enough specialists to deal constructively with the problem. Furthermore, because it was not considered a priority, it was not included in the city’s social plan, and much less so on the agenda of the police. March 6, 2002 - Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu founded.

62 April 16, 2002 - After only two months of activity, Sentinela announces having taken care of 26 children. April 27, 2002 - In Foz do Iguaçu, the Child Protection Council28 and Federal Police perform a prevention exercise on the “Friendship Bridge” (Ponte da Amizade) with the goal of obstructing trafficking, illegal trade, and migration of persons below 18 years of age. 54 youths were removed from the streets. Beginning of May, 2002 - First great offensive to introduce the topic in Foz do Iguaçu, with May 18 being the National Day of the Fight against the Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in Brazil. Local newspapers announce a few days earlier that Sentinela would distribute pamphlets at traffic lights with the slogan “Do not be an accomplice to this crime, denounce! SOS Child 0800-45-1407” and that the ILO Project would commemorate the event by disseminating the national slogan “Forgetting is allowing, remembering is fighting”. On the same days, the Health Secretariat and the Centre for Solidarity-Based Actions on AIDS/ NASA announces the project “Cinderella of the Streets” in the press, which is focused on controling HIV and STDs in sex professionals. May 18, 2002 - Headlines of the A Gazeta do Iguaçu newspaper announce: “Foz repudiates the sexual exploitation of children”. Announcement that a public action is to take place at the Praça das Nações Square, jointly promoted by ILO, Sentinela, the Child Protection Council, and the Child Secretariat. The article gives the national and local Dial &Denounce phone numbers. June, 2002 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu announces the registration of 1,313 cases of violence

riple Border Area against children in 2002. With regard to sexual violence, there were 36 cases in 2000, 41 in 2001 and 15 during the first semester of 2002. The same month, the Action Plans in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este are announced, and Argentina joins the project in the “Seminar for the Formulation of the Operation Plan for Countries of the MERCOSUR for the definition of common policies to eradicate Child Labour” held in Buenos Aires,

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) with the support of IPEC. 63 July 1-3, 2002 - Seminar on “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Triple Border between Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay: Actions for its Prevention and Elimination” held in Ciudad del Este. During the seminar, studies of institutional offers, rapid assessments and legal studies of Brazil and Paraguay were released. The press highlights the future establishment of reference centers and the final document of the meeting. Argentina is represented by national authorities and by members of social institutions of Puerto Iguazu. The final document of the event, called Carta de Ciudad del Este, supports the signing of a trilateral agreement to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and

adolescents. AWARENESS RAISING AND August 6, 2002 - The first meeting of the Binational Committee takes place in Foz do Iguaçu. Argentina founds its Local Committee. The Trinational Committee is formed. Still at the beginning of August, Sentinela announces having INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING removed 124 children from the streets since its establishment in February. September 17, 2002 - Workshop of the Local Committee of Puerto Iguazu with the technical team of CONAETI. First steps taken towards the establishment of the “Luz de Infância” Programme. October 29, 2002 –Workshop on: “The Role of the Communicator in Tackling the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children”, held in Ciudad del Este, promoted by the Journalists’ Labour Union / Alto Paraná Section. October 2002 - Realization of a “Capacity-Building Course for Prevention Agents of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Foz do Iguaçu”, for teachers, students and parents (promoted by ILO, State Education Network of Foz do Iguaçu, Regional Nucleus of Education, and the Municipal Child Secretariat). A communication campaign starts the same month in Paraguay. November 12, 2002 - What would become the emblematic case of the Fight against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Triple Border takes place In Foz do Iguaçu. The Child Protection Council catches a Paraguayan driver having sexual intercourse

64 with an Argentinean adolescent on the driver´s seat of his truck. Her manager, also Argentinean, is present. Taken to the police station, the adults are released, and the child remains with the Child Protection Council. Outraged, the counselors publicly accuse the civil police of being involved with commercial sexual exploitation. In response, the police delegate states that the Child Protection Council is not authorized to classify crimes handled by the police. The Child Protection Council denounces them to the Department of Justice. At the beginning of December, the Municipal Council for Child Rights holds public audiences at the Chamber of City Councilmen to standardize proceedings in the fight to eliminate the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Foz do Iguaçu. The Justice Department, Judiciary and Security branches were invited. This also enabled a joint action of the Trinational Committee, since 30 representatives from member institutions of the Local Committees from all three countries were at the meeting in Ciudad del Este, and a denunciation document was formulated. This letter was sent by the respective local committees to the ministerial and diplomatic authorities and to the local and state governments of the three countries. November 20, 2002 - At the soccer match between the teams of Club Olimpia and the River Plate of Uruguay, the Olimpia players enter the field with a banner bearing the slogan of the communication campaign in Paraguay “The sexual exploitation of children is a crime....and shall be paid for.” December 8, 2002 - On the Day of the Virgencita de Caacupé, the patron saint of Paraguay, representatives from the

riple Border Area Pastoral hand out little images of the Virgin with a prayer for sexually exploited children. December 10, 2002 - Official start of the Action Programme for “Prevention and Integral Care for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children in Ciudad del Este”, the implementing agency being the Pastoral for the monitoring of children of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este unit. Support from IPEC, Itaipu Binacional, Municipality of Ciudad del Este

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) and Tesai Foundation. 65 On the same date (December 10 2002) - Official start of the Action Programme “Prevention and Integral Care for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children in Foz do Iguaçu”, the Nossa Señora Aparecida Civil Society– SCNSA being the implementing agency; support from IPEC, the municipality of Foz do Iguaçu, Nosso Lar Foundation, Fraternidade Aliança Association - AFA, the Centre for Solidarity-Based Actions on AIDS - NASA, Little Guard of Foz do Iguaçu and SEBRAE. Inauguration of Redescobrir Reference Center 3 /. December 11, 2002 - “Workshop on Commercial Sexual Exploitation” for journalists, opinion makers and communication students, at the UN Building in Asunción. Joint action

with the “Workshop on Domestic Child Labour”. AWARENESS RAISING AND November and December, 2002 - The Paraguay communication team visits the main newspaper offices of Asunción, taking explanatory pamphlets about the Project and requesting that they spread news about the campaign. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Communication directors of enterprises are also visited for support. In November and December, FM and AM radio micro-programmes and TV spots are broadcast for free. At the same time, coordinators of the communication campaign take part in nine FM and AM radio broadcasts and six TV programmes. The communication campaign in Asunción ends in March 2003.

2003 January 15, 2003 - The Paraguay communication team begins its work in Ciudad del Este, together with the local press, disseminating radio micro-programmes and classified ads for awareness-raising. It also meets the Municipal Comptroller to discuss campaign material for distribution on the streets and public city buses. A meeting is held with the Association of Passenger Transport Enterprises of Ciudad del Este (ASETRAPACE) specifically with regard to the buses. The communication campaign in Ciudad del Este ends in March 2003. January 2003 - In Foz do Iguaçu, Sentinela joins the Reference Center Network. At the end of January, the Child Protection Council announces that 7000 cases of violence 66 against boys, girls and adolescents were taken care of in 2002, with 180 being cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children. In February, also in Foz do Iguaçu, ILO presents the press with an “Opinion Makers’ Guide”. February 12, 2003 - The Paraguay communication team hosts a breakfast for the press from Alto Paraná (Ciudad del Este, Presidente Franco and Hernandarias). February 2003 - A Police Station for Women and Tourists is opened in Foz do Iguaçu. March 19, 2003 –In Foz do Iguaçu, launching of the “Programme for the Integral Care for Children who are Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation”, an initiative of the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Society, maintained through the support of ILO and 20 governmental and non-governmental agencies. At that time, Reference Centers 1 (Sentinela), 2 (Outpatient Clinic), and 3 (Rediscover) were already operating. Besides these three Reference Centers, other units of the network, like Guarda Mirim, Casa Albergue Infanto-Juvenil Feminino, Fundação Nosso Lar, councils and other governmental and non-governmental agencies help look after boys, girls and adolescents in situations of commercial sexual exploitation. On the same date (March 19 2003) - Launching of two action programmes in Ciudad del Este. One of them to be implemented by the Diocese/Pastoral of Monitoring for Children (In collaboration with four other institutions), establishing a Center of Prevention and Integral Care (CEAPRA) and another one by Fundación Esperanza, for income generation alternatives for families (adults and adolescents).The CEAPRA is inaugurated on the

riple Border Area same day. The official opening is performed by the Bishop of Ciudad del Este, with the presence of the Judge of Childhood and Adolescence, besides representatives from the Fiscal Department. Announcement made that the funds would come from the ILO, Itaipu, and the Municipality of Ciudad del Este. April 1, 2003 - Official starting date of the sub-regional IPEC programme, “Luz de Infancia, for the Prevention and

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 67 Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children“, to be implemented in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina. Expected termination date: September 2005. Implementing agency: Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. April 10 and 11, 2003 - Realization of the ”Intermediate Evaluation Seminar” in Foz do Iguaçu, with the participation of the Local Committees and authorities from the three countries. The Foz do Iguaçu press announces that in May 18 a campaign for the Prevention and Fight Against Child Commercial Sexual Exploitation will be launched, headed by CIRANDA - News Agency for Children’s Rights29, which

will propose the establishment of a “protection network AWARENESS RAISING AND against networks that sexually exploit children”. April 27, 2003 - The Jornal do Brasil newspaper publishes an article about the sexual exploitation of girls, boys, in which the Secretariat for Social Policies of the Assistance and INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Social Promotion Department states that the “successful experience of the fight against prostitution at the Brazil- Paraguay-Argentina triple border shall help motivate the Lula Government in its policies to tackle the problem throughout the entire country”. April 29, 2003 - The Coordination Agency for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CDIA), ILO/IPEC and UNICEF present the “operational matrix” for the “National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of the Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents in Paraguay”. End of April, 2003 - Capacity-building workshop for monitors of the Programme to Eradicate Child Labour - PETI, in Foz do Iguaçu. April, 2003 – The electronic bulletin Networking Action30, published by CIRANDA, starts on the web. On the same day, the “Sala Legal” (Legal Room) is set up at Reference Center 1/Sentinela in Foz do Iguaçu. May 9, 2003 - A meeting of members of the Action Programme and the hotel sector takes place at the Iguassu Convention & Visitors Bureau in Foz do Iguaçu. Participants at this event include the Municipal Travel Council, tour guides’ and hotel workers’ trade unions, and entrepreneurs.

68 May 16, 2003 -‘The hydroelectric power company Itaipu Binacional announces that it will support CIRANDA’s campaign two days before the mobilization effort set to take place on May 18 in Foz do Iguaçu. May 18, 2003- The Fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Network Campaign is launched in Foz do Iguaçu, with representatives from civil society and government, including the State Governor. Part of the launching, as an initiative of the Public Labour Department, is the hotel sector’s signing of “Terms of Adhesion” to the Campaign against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. The next day, 500 people mobilize in support of the Protection Network on the streets of Foz do Iguaçu. May 29, 2003 - An investigation of a home at the ResidencialQuarter of the Country Club in Ciudad del Este catches child pornographers in the act, with four adolescent victims, three of whom are Brazilian. CEAPRA denounces them to the Ministry of Justice. June 12, 2003 - On World Day against Child Labour, which this year is dedicated to child trafficking, local committees from the three countries occupy the Ponte da Amizade (Friendship Bridge). The local press extensively covers the event and the signing of the Term of Adhesion by the Mayors of Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguaçu. On the same day in Geneva, the Project’s Chief Technical Advisor and a representative of the local committee of Foz do Iguaçu participate in a panel discussion at ILO Headquarters during the International Labour Conference, presenting the results of the work done at the Triple Border. A video is shown about the problems at the border and includes testimonies of several local

riple Border Area actors, such as for example, the President of the Itaipu Trade Union in Paraguay. The Border Project is selected to represent Latin American experiences in the fight against child trafficking. Three other experiences of IPEC in the fight against child trafficking in Africa and Asia are also represented on the same panel.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 69 End of June, 2003 - In Foz do Iguaçu, an international agent involved in the trafficking of young girls is arrested. This is considered a milestone for punitive actions. Mid-July 2003 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu rescues two Brazilian girls in a brothel of Los Cedrales (Paraguay), with the support of the Public Prosecutor in Ciudad del Este and the Paraguayan National Police. July 23, 2003 - Meeting held between Itaipu and 30 Brazilian and Paraguayan entities and institutions that are active in the fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, to record all actions taken thus far and to summarize the main problems. July 2003 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu announces

that, after the campaign was launched, denunciations AWARENESS RAISING AND of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents increased 400%. August, 2003 - A Task Force to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents is launched, with the INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING participation of the Labour Department, the Child Protection Council, and the Federal and Civil Police. The Delegate for Tourists and Women announces a blitz at a massage parlor in Foz do Iguaçu. Capacity building for police officers. September 5, 2003 - Capacity building for 250 teachers from zones I, II, III in Ciudad del Este, with the support of the Department of Educational Supervision of the Ministry of Education and Culture. September 17-18, 2003 - The Work Experience at the Triple Border is presented at the National Seminar on the Sexual Exploitation of Children, held in Brasília. October 2-4, 2003 - Activities of the Mixed Parliamentary Inquisition Commission on Sexual Exploitation in Foz do Iguaçu. October 9, 2003 - Itaipu launches a campaign for the Fight against the Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Foz do Iguaçu, focusing on Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazú. On this occasion, hotel owners sign terms of adhesion to the network, and Itaipu signs agreements with SENAC, SENAI and the Institute of Technology and Information and TI, for the capacity building of adolescents removed from the

70 streets and their family members. Another agreement is signed with ILO to hold awareness-raising workshops for health agents and tourism professionals (travel agents, guides, taxi drivers and motorcycle taxis). In the afternoon of the same day, a public audience of the CPMI on sexual exploitation takes place in the city. October 12, 2003 - Itaipu organizes a party for 10,000 boys, girls and adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu. October 18, 2003 - Launching of the Itaipu campaign for the press in Ciudad del Este. October, 2003 - The Special Group for the Elimination of Organized Crime (GERCO) created in Foz do Iguaçu, integrating the Civil and Military Police and the Public Ministry. October, 2003 - Capacity building for police officers and schoolteachers in Foz do Iguaçu. November, 2003 - New implementation phase of the Luz de Infancia Programme in Puerto Iguazú. November 25, 2003 - On Non-Violence Day, agreements are signed between Itaipu, local networks and the Mayors of Ciudad del Este, Hernandárias, Presidente Franco and Mingua Guazu for the development of joint actions to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. A total of 1,200 girls, boys and adolescents from schools in the city center of CDE gather in the square (formerly the airport), wearing the Fight Against Abuse and Sexual Exploitation T-shirt, the slogan of the campaign. This activity is organized by the network and by the Department of Educational Supervision. The Itaipu Coordination Director is present. November 27, 2003 - The Paraguayan House of Representatives approves the ratification of ILO Covenant 138 (Law 2322 of December 19, 2003).

riple Border Area November, 2003 - Capacity building for police officers in Ciudad del Este. December 3, 2003 - “Joint Action of Law Enforcers at the Triple Border” workshop held in Foz do Iguaçu. December 4-5, 2003 - Seminar on “Progress and Challenges of Networks in the Fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and adolescents at the Triple Border - Work Plan 2004” in Foz do Iguaçu. Visit of

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 71 North American senators. New members join from the tourist sector in November. December 23, 2003 - The National Children’s Secretariat in Paraguay incorporates the National Plan for CSEC as a sectoral plan for the Policy on Children and Adolescents.

2004 February 13 and 20, 2004 - Capacity building workshops for journalists on the use of the Journalist’s Guide, in Curitiba. February 2004 - The workshops of the Network of Solidarity Institutions - RIS31 begin, with the goal of strengthening current actions of the committees in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este, and to define strategic planning for the next

AWARENESS RAISING AND actions. RIS actions were financed by ILO. February 23 to March 4, 2004 - The Special UNO Envoy on Child Trafficking, Prostitution and Infant Pornography, Juan

Petit, visits Paraguay. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING March 27, 2004 - The Local Inter-Sectoral Committee of Puerto Iguazú, after its re-constitution, organizes its first meeting of the year. March, 2004 - The Guardianship Programme in Foz do Iguaçu trains the first groups of families in the Entrepreneurship Course. 156 parents and youngsters graduate. On March 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th, capacity building for the Foz do Iguaçu Municipal Guard. April 16, 2004 - Itaipu promotes the 6th Meeting of the Network to Fight Abuse and Sexual Exploitation in Ciudad del Este, with the participation of Brazilians and Paraguayans. The General Consul of Brazil in Paraguay and several Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities, plus the UNICEF Representative in São Paulo are also present. The latter declares that UNICEF believes in the work done at the border, as its impact is considerable and powerful32. At the meeting, Paraguay accepts to keep May 18th as the country’s “Fight the Sexual Exploitation of Children Day”. At the same event, Itaipu presents the campaign seal to be distributed to 60 Brazilian hotels that had signed the Term of Adhesion and Commitment proposed by the Labour Department Public Prosecutor Margaret Matos de Carvalho in 2003. 72 April 28-30, 2004 - Members of Local Committees from the three countries take part in the seminar “Weaving the Future - Workshop on Good Practices in the Fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Latin America and the Caribbean”, held in Cartagena, Colombia. April, 2004 - Establishment of the “Network for the Protection of Children and Adolescents in Alto Paraná”, for tackling problems that affect girls, boys and adolescents in general. The main objective is to stimulate the participation and joint actions of different segments of society (citizens, politicians, entrepreneurs, civil organizations, government, trade unions, associations, schools, and universities). January-April 2004 - Local study of Puerto Iguazú conducted. Four CSEC modalities are identified in Puerto Iguazú (i) youth recruitment networks for brothels, (ii) services at hotels, (iii) working street boys who are sexually and commercially exploited, and (iv) centers for attracting young boys and girls. Initially denied, the CSEC problem brought to light cases of sexual violence, abuse and incest. An important observation made by the Argentinean team refers to the fact that, as long as violations or abuses are socially acknowledged as crimes, CSEC is frequently justified for economic reasons, as it is considered a derivation of other types of child labour and understandable due to the family’s dire economic situation. May 17, 2004 - Opening of the National Week to Combat the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu, promoted by the local committee in Iguaçu with the support of ILO/ITAIPU, in the

riple Border Area amphitheatre of Unioeste University. Participation of the Children’s Secretariat of Paraguay. The city’s 30 hotels that had trained their staff received the plaque to be exhibited in their establishment. It was announced that until October 12 the 60 hotels that signed the Term of Adhesion to the cause, would train their staff and receive the “Tourism Seal”. On this occasion, 300 municipal guards receive the “Seal of Distinction” for their training

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) in correctly attending to tourists and victims of that 73 sort of crime. CIRANDA distributes over 1200 Journalists’ Guides to journalists and students of journalism, in news rooms and at the UDC/Foz do Iguaçu University. May 18, 2004 (Foz do Iguaçu) - A public mobilization and dance performance promoted by the Casa do Teatro (Theater House) marks the National Day to Combat the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Activities are concentrated in the district of Porto Meira. This was the launching and the start of the Mobile Unit’s activities. May 18, 2004 (Curitiba) - The Justice Department of Paraná announces the establishment of a Public Prosecutor’s Office, specializing in fighting crimes committed against girls,

boys and adolescents. An arrangement is made between AWARENESS RAISING AND the Special Secretariat of Human Rights (SEDH) and the Justice Department of Paraná whereby information from the national Denunciation Hotline service for Paraná would be forwarded to the Center of Operational Support INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING to Public Prosecutors for Children and Adolescents (COAP/Criança) in Curitiba. The Judiciary Authority announces the establishment of a Criminal Court specializing in crimes committed against children. The State Governor announces the establishment of a Police Station specializing in crimes committed against minors, the Nucleus for the Protection of Children who are Victims of Violence-NUCRIA. May 18, 2004 (Brasília) -‘Commemoration of the National Day to Combat the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children in the Presidential Palace (Palacio do Planalto). Official ILO launching of the book “A Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes nas Legislações de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguai: alternativas de harmonização para o Mercosul”, (“Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and Adolescents in the Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay Legislation: Harmonizing Alternatives for the MERCOSUR” in Portuguese), by Márcia Anita Sprandel, Henrique José Antão de Carvalho and Adriana Mourão Romero. On the same occasion, Itaipu Binacional and the Special Secretariat of Human Rights sign a

74 technical agreement for implementing and executing the Programme to Combat the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Children at the Triple Border. May 31, 2004 - According to Decree Nr. 2616, the President of the Republic of Paraguay declares the commemoration activities of the World Day against Child Labour to be of national interest. June 8, 2004 - Decree Nr. 2645 approves the “National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labour and Protection of Adolescents” in Paraguay. June 9, 2004 - Itaipu Binacional meets representatives of social assistance agencies to work on the Strategic Plan for the Network against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Foz do Iguaçu. June 10, 2004 - 300 school children attend a public demonstration in Ciudad del Este, exhibiting drawings with slogans against child labour and in favor of children’s rights. June 12, 2004 - At the World Day against Child Labour, school children from Zone 3 in Ciudad del Este exhibit their drawings, saying “NO to labour and YES to leisure, and to a safe and happy childhood”. June 23, 2004 - Presentation of the book “La explotación sexual de niños, niñas y adolescentes en las legislaciones de Argentina, Brasil y Paraguai: alternativas de armonización para el Mercosur” (“Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Legislations of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay: Harmonizing Alternatives for the MERCOSUR” in Spanish), by Marcia Anita Sprandel, Henrique José Antão de Carvalho and Adriana Mourão Romero in Ciudad del Este. Sixty- seven people participate in the event, mainly attorneys. Among them, the outstanding presence of 45 members

riple Border Area of the Judiciary (City councilmen, judges, and defense attorneys) and 10 from the Justice Department/Fiscal Inspectors. July 7, 2004 - In Brasília, the reading of the final CPMI (Mixed Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) Report on Sexual Exploitation. The report mentions two cases investigated in Foz do Iguaçu and one in Hernandárias. Directed towards the Brazilian government, the CPMI suggests

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) that it is urgent that an agreement be signed between 75 the Triple Border countries with the objective of making criminal perpetrators, who promote the trafficking of women and adolescents for sexual exploitation, responsible for their actions. Resources of the Federal Police in Foz do Iguaçu need to be strengthened. The social responsibility initiatives of Itaipu must be recognized and maintained. The CPMI report also proposes important changes in the Brazilian Penal Code. July 22, 2004 - In Foz do Iguaçu, Itaipu launches the Escola Cidadã scholarship for 300 families and nearly 900 girls and boys. This is a monthly benefit of R$ 75.00. The objectives are to guarantee that girls and boys attend school between the ages of 6 and 14 and to reduce

child labour in the city. The project is a partnership AWARENESS RAISING AND between Itaipu with the NGO Missão Criança. July 26, 2004 - It was announced in Brazil that the topic of the 2nd Tim Lopez Investigative Journalism Contest (promoted by ANDI, UNICEF, ILO, Fenaj Abraji) will be sexual abuse INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING and exploitation. August 3, 2004 - Meeting of Law Enforcement Officers - established in Ciudad del Este, with the participation of members from Brazil and Argentina. August 4, 2004 - In Foz do Iguaçu, Itaipu and UNICEF launch the “Strengthened Brazilian Family”- Project, consisting of the distribution of educational folders for members of the Pastoral of the Child and community agents. August 23, 2004 - A new technical team in Argentina takes over the “Luz de Infancia” Programme. Reception Office established for denunciations and information on victims of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls and boys and children in dangerous situations. August, 2004 - Official completion of the Prevention and Integral Care Programme for Children in Situations of Commercial Sexual Exploitation, after local training and capacity building for members of their families in Ciudad del Este33, and of the Integral Care Programme for Children in Situations of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Foz do Iguaçu34. September 16, 2004 - After receiving a denunciation, the Child Protection Council detains a travel agent in Foz do Iguaçu for the corruption of minors. The accused had entered 76 a motel followed by a 13-year-old girl, and two adolescent girls, ages 15 and 16. September 28, 2004 - Capacity building for the Law Enforcement Working Group in Ciudad del Este. Participation of the Puerto de Iguazu Committee. On the same day, the Child Protection Council announces that in ten years of activity, it had helped with 30,000 cases. Two out of every ten calls involved girls and boys sexually abused by adults. September, 2004 - Completion, in Foz do Iguaçu, of the “Integral Care Programme for Children in Situations of Commercial Sexual Exploitation.” November 15, 2004 - The technical team of the Luz de Infancia Programme meets with UNICEF representatives in Argentina. November 17, 2004 - Signing of Terms of Commitment between motel owners, Presidents of the Taxi Driver Cooperative and Trade Union in Foz do Iguaçu with the Public Labour Department. November 20, 2004 - Capacity building for the press (oral and written) in Puerto Iguazu. December 02, 2004 - Inauguration of the Center for Reference and Attention to Women in Situation of Sexual Violence “Rejane dal Bó”, in Foz de Iguaçu. This house had been requested by the Women’s Policy Station, and Itaipu Bi- National offered a new space adapted to the center’s needs. The Programme “Esperança e Vida” (“Hope and Life”) is implemented by NGO Casa Familia Maria Porta do Céu. Dezember 9, 2004 - Capacity-building workshop for trainers of tour operators in Ciudad del Este, with the participation of Local Committees from Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del

riple Border Area Este. Dcember 10, 2004 - Capacity building for journalists (oral and written press) in Puerto Iguazu. December 13, 2004 - Signing of Terms of Commitment with the tourism sector of Ciudad del Este. December 13 to 15, 2004 - Capacity building for travel agents in the hotel sector in Ciudad del Este.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 77 December 15, 2004 - In Foz do Iguaçu, establishment of the Nucleus for the Protection of Child Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/NUCRIA, by the State Governor of Paraná, envisaged in 2003 by the Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu, Ciranda and ILO.

2005 January, 2005 - Launching of the Acordar (Awaken) Programme in Foz do Iguaçu, reformulation of the Action Programme, developed simultaneously by four entities that work complementarily. The Nossa Senhora Aparecida civil society manages the Programme and takes care of health issues through an outpatient clinic, offering

AWARENESS RAISING AND professional workshops for victims and their family members. The Centre for Solidarity-Based Actions on AIDS (NASA) is responsible for approaching individuals

on the street or in loco, in brothels. The Casa do Teatro INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING gives workshops in five locations that are considered critical - Profilurb, Morumbi, Três Lagoas, Cidade Nova and City Center. Since January, 786 girls and boys have already attended workshops, with prevention being the main objective. Another partner of the project is the Nosso Lar Foundation, working with family care, mainly in psychological matters. In order to rescue the adolescents who have been victimized, the Acordar Programme focuses on work with the family. March 2005 - At a meeting with representatives from the Brazilian Consulate in Puerto Iguazu, the Mayor of Foz do Iguaçu announces that they will reinitiate meetings of the Foz do Iguaçu/Puerto Iguazu35 Border Committee, which had been suspended in 1998. The Brazilian diplomats proposed creating a union between the Brazil/Paraguay/ Argentina border cities to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, and to focus on harmonizing the three countries’ municipal legislation so that the city councilmen of Foz, Puerto Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este, Hernandárias and Puerto Franco may hold joint sessions to discuss severe punitive laws for perpetrators of such crimes.

78 March 2, 2005 - Workshop held in Puerto Iguazu to formulate a Trilateral Cooperation Plan between local governments, committees and a law enforcement working group to implement policies to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the Triple Border Area. March 4, 2005 - Workshop held in Foz do Iguaçú to formulate a Trilateral Cooperation Plan between local governments, committees and law enforcement groups for the implementation of policies to prevent the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and adolescents in the Triple Border Area. March 9, 2005 - Workshop held in Ciudad del Este for the formulation of a Trilateral Cooperation Plan between local governments, committees and law enforcement groups for implementing policies against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and adolescents in the Triple Border Area. March 16, 2005 - Task force against child labour and the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents on the Friendship Bridge (Ponte da Amizade) and in the Jardim Jupira and Vila Pontes areas, in a joint effort between the Municipal Guard, SOS Criança, the Federal and Civil Police/NUCRIA, Children’s Police Station, Child Protection Council and Federal Highway Police. Parallel operation in Ciudad del Este. The institutions from both cities involved in this operation intend to strengthen cooperation mechanisms. March 22, 2005 - In Paraguay, Decree 4951 approves the list of hazardous child labour which includes “work that implies transfer to other countries and periodic traffic at national borders” and “modelling jobs with erotic images,

riple Border Area resulting in the risks of psychological harassment, early sexual stimulation, and sexual abuse”. March 29, 2005 - Inauguration of the “Integral Child Protection and Promotion” Project, in Hernandarias, Paraguay. Launched by the National Children’s Secretariat of Paraguay in partnership with Itaipu Binacional. This is the country’s first government action in the fight against the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) The initative forms part of the Trinational Plan for the 79 Prevention and Abolition of Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. On this occasion, the Brazilian Special Secretary for Human Rights, Nilmário Miranda, announces a meeting in Asunción (Paraguay), set to take place on May 8 and 9, to discuss the fight against sexual exploitation and to which the Argentinean government will also be invited to develop a joint effort. The Secretary was also introduced to the Acordar Programme, a project financed by SEDH since January. Nearly 1,000 people have been taken care of since it was launched, with 786 of them receiving training in prevention activities, like art, music and circus workshops. SEDH will invest R$ 650 thousand

to finance the Programme. Itaipu Binacional also AWARENESS RAISING AND supports the Programme. March, 2005 - Meeting of the Triple Border Law Enforcement Working Group. April 19, 2005 - The Foz do Iguaçu Child Protection Council, in INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING partnership with the Paraguayan authorities, removed 61 girls, boys and adolescents from the street, who were illegally crossing the Friendship Bridge. Those under 13 years old were forwarded to the PETI. Those between 14 and 18 were taken to the “Little Guard” (Guarda-Mirim), where they will receive professional training and be sent to work. This action was performed jointly by representatives from the Child Protection Network of Alto Paraná and the Paraguayan CEAPRA. Sixty Paraguayan adolescents were identified. May 12 and 13, 2005 - A Seminar for the Development of a Trilateral Plan of Cooperation for the implementation of policies against the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents was realized in Foz do Iguaçu, gathering together over 100 representatives from the three border cities. On the first day, law enforcement officers analyzed and discussed suggestions already presented in earlier seminars in all three countries. The next day, governments, committees, and law enforcement officers evaluated the mechanisms proposed for cooperation in fighting CSEC and developed a Guide for Border Area Procedures. A Monitoring Committee was also

80 established, with the responsibility of providing follow- up to the implementation of the signed document.

The chronology presented above will certainly contain omissions, as well as errors. Whatever changes or corrections may be necessary, they will not alter the final result of the analysis. In other words, the goal achieved by the Project with regard to institutional strengthening are: (1) public, private, governmental and non-governmental institutions have been strengthened in their ability to formulate and implement efforts for the elimination of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, and (2) the Project influenced the adoption of national, local and binational policies for eliminating the problem in the areas of intervention.

3.2. Evaluation According to a final evaluation of the Project, it may be confirmed that all of the actions envisaged as institutional strengthening components, have been performed, as shown in Chart 1.

riple Border Area

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 81 Chart 1 - Institutional strengthening actions

Objetive Result Trinational Committee Established in August, 2002 (Brazil-Paraguay- Argentina) Inter-institutional Establishment of Local Committee in March, 2002 Committee in Ciudad del Este Inter-institutional Establishment of Local Committee in February, 2002 Committee in Foz do Iguacu Inter-institutional Establishment of Local Committee in August, 2002 Committee in Puerto

Iguazú AWARENESS RAISING AND Statement by Law Establishment of a working group of Law Enforcement Enforcement Officers’ Officers from the three cities in August, 2004 Working Group

Staff training Action Programmes improved local responsability since INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING no organization had been dedicated to this subject in the region before. Today there is specialized staff to deal with the problem. In the case of Paraguay and Argentina, the cities of Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazú have the best trained staff for dealing with the matter in their countries. Capacity building Successful capacity building for 2000 teachers and 450 law enforcement agents (judges, police officers, public prosecutors) rights councils, councils for children and adolescents, CODENIs, etc), as well as for journalists from 2002 until December 2004. The organization of different events (launching of campaigns and publications, public actions (Friendship Bridge - June 12, 2003), public demonstrations, etc , including 3 major seminars (Ciudad del Este from July 1st. to 3rd , 2002 and Foz do Iguaçu April, 9 and 10, 2003 and December 4th and 5th, 2003). The objective was to impart results, and to plan and evaluate actions with governmental and non-governmental participation from the three countries (the 3 border cities, plus Brasília, Curitiba, Asunción and Buenos Aires). In May, 2004, the Project obtains the participation of 20 local and national representatives from the 3 countries at the seminar for the evaluation of good practices in the fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents organized by ILO/ IPBC, held in Cartagena, Colombia. 82 The Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu was established in March 2002 with the participation of 44 institutions (see Chart 2).

Chart 2 - Organizations participating in the Local Committee of Foz do Iguaçu 1. ACIFI - Commercial and Industrial Association of Foz do Iguaçu 2. AREPEEM - Regional Association of Presidents of APMs - (Parent-Teacher Association) 3. City Council of Foz do Iguaçu 4. Casa Família Maria Porta do Céu Association 5. City Rights Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents 6. Social Assistance City Council 7. Health City Council 8. Children’s City Council 9. Women’s City Council 10. MERCOSUR and International Affairs Department 11. Municipal Forum Against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents 12. Foz do Iguaçu Cultural Foundation 13. Nosso Lar Foundation 14. Little Guard of Foz do Iguaçu 15. Municipal Guard 16. Itaipu Binacional 17. Judge for the Rights of Children and Adolescents 18. Labour Department - Regional Labour Sub-Agency 19. Justice Department - Special Solicitor 20. NASA - Centre for Solidarity-Based Actions on AIDS 21. Regional Education Nucleus 22. Regional Social Service Nucleus 23. OAB - Brazilian Bar Association 24. Pastoral for Minors 25. Federal Police 26. Sentinela Programme 27. Social Action Secretariat 28. Employment and Labour Relations Secretariat 29. Municipal Children’s Secretariat 30. Municipal Education Secretariat 31. Municipal Security Secretariat 32. Municipal Tourist Secretariat 33. Municipal Government Secretariat 34. Municipal Health Secretariat

riple Border Area 35. Commercial Employees’ Trade Union of Foz do Iguaçu 36. Electrical Workers’ Trade Union of Foz do Iguaçu 37. Hotel and other similar Workers’ Trade Union of Foz do Iguaçu 38. Trade Union of Hotels, Bars, Restaurants and similar of Foz do Iguaçu 39. Professional Journalists’ Trade Union of Paraná 40. Municipal Officials’ Trade Union of Foz do Iguaçu 41. Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Association 42. Municipal Employees’ Trade Union 43. UNIAMÉRICA 43. UNIOESTE 44. Military Police, 14th Batallion

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 83 The Local Committee of Ciudad del Este was established in February 2002 with the participation of the following institutions.

Chart 3 - Institutions participating in the Local Committee of Ciudad del Este 1. APAMAP - NGO 2. Korean Association 3. CODENI 4. Diocese of Ciudad del Este 5. Esperanza - (Hope) Foundation 6. Santo Domingo Foundation 7. Alto Paraná District 8. Alto Paraná District - Press 9. Santa Tereza Home for Children 10. CDE Regional Hospital

AWARENESS RAISING AND 11. Minors’ Court 12. Ministry of Education and Culture 13. Ministry of Justice and Labour 14. Ministry of Health

15. MITA RAPE - NGO INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING 16. CDE Municipality 17. Governmental Judicial Power 18. National Police 19. PREALPA - NGO 20. A.M.A.R. Project 21. Corpus Radio Station 22. REMAR PARAGUAY - NGO 23. Rotary Club CDE 24. Rotary Club CDE Sin Fronteras 25. Rotary Club Costa del Lago 26. Childrens’ Secretariat–Alto Paraná District 27. Womens’ Secretariat - Alto Paraná District

The Local Puerto Iguazú Committee was only established in August 2002. This was due to the fact that Argentina joined the Programme in June, 2002 at the milestone Seminar for the Fomulation of the Operational MERCOSUR Country Plan for the Definition of Common Policies for Eliminating Child Labour, supported by IPBC and held in Buenos Aires. Consequently, Argentinians participated in the Seminar on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and Adolescents at the Triple Border (Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay): Actions for its Prevention and Elimination, promoted by the Project in Ciudad del Este, from July 1st to 3rd, 2002. The National Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour in Argentina established a Local Committee in Puerto Iguazú in August, 2002, which was immediately incorporated by the 84 already existing Binational Committee (formed by Local Committees of Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu). Unlike the Brazilian and Paraguayan Committees, the Argentinian Committee is linked to a government agency, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, which is the implementing agency of the “Luz de Infancia Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and Adolescents” 36, funded by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), through IPEC. The official name of the Argentinian Committee is Comité Local Multisectorial para la Erradicación de la Explotación Sexual Comercial Infantil en Puerto Iguazú (Multisectoral Local Committee for the Eradication of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and Adolescents in Puerto Iguazú), being composed of:

Chart 4 - Composition of the Local Committee of Puerto Iguazú Provincial Government Municipal Government Federal Police Provincial Police National Police Maritime Authority National Directory of Migration Education Sector Health Sector Tourism Churches Entrepreneurial Sector Trade Union Sector Judiciary

The Trinational Committee for the Prevention and Elimination of the Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and Adolescents at the Triple Border, therefore, has been in existence since August, 2002.

riple Border Area Its formal existence, however, does not mean that there is an actual link between the committees of the three countries. In the intermediate evaluation realized by Dominique Demellene, the consultant explains the cultural and historical differences between the three cities (“Ciudad del Este, Foz and Puerto Iguazú are three different realities immersed in a single metropolis” 37), as demonstrated in the following chart:

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 85 Chart 5 - Cultural and Historical Differences

City Ciudad del Este Foz do Iguaçu Puerto Iguazú 225,000 inh. 258,000 inh. 35,000 inh. Founded 42 years ago Founded 90 years ago Founded 101 years ago

Socio- economic circumstance Unemployment, 70 slums are hubs of Devaluation. which distorts reality. poverty. Possibility of income It has now decreased Tourism. Migration. through border to 80%. Easy money. Legal work is poorly exchanges and tourism. Poverty. Population paid, smuggling AWARENESS RAISING AND has low educational more lucrative. level. Area with much Source of easy migration, large factor money. of uprooting.

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

Culture

Culture of silence and A multicultural city, Iguazú is a city with a conflict, priests deny different ways of 0 violence index. reality, adolescents looking at reality, Prevention system don’t talk about their sexuality for example. based in decentralized circumstances. In CdE Different from other services, community several nationalities Brazilian cities. Has organizations, self- meet, each of them no city culture, management system, with their own habits people live here to etc. and customs. earn money.

Situation of exploitation of minors Paraguay has very Smuggling and illicit Families do not know low self-esteem, in work is a problem what to do, there are CdE it is worse, all leading to child labour no norms. Exploitation news in the press and sexual develops around about CdE is exploitation. There hotels.. They are not negative. in the streets.

86 Cases seen until now are systems of It happens as a are for survival. There organized crime. consequence of is a strong Many people with contact with the relationship between easy money. border. Is part of the poverty, abuse and Adolescents with no trafficking route to exploitation. Once a expectations, living other Argentinian girl has been abused, in a violent cities. she loses value for environment. her family. Exploitation starts in the slums.

Institutions In institutions and Social movements are social organizations different from other there is still an movements in Brazil. authoritarian culture, the culture of commanding and controlling. Project implementa-tion Private initiative: Private initiative with Initiative of the Esperanza (Hope) municipal municipality along Foundation, Diocese development and with the support of with the collaboration collaboration of public representatives of of Itaipu and institutions. local organizations. municipality. Crosscutting The border makes institutions and rules more vulnerable. It is an area without control. There is a relationship between organized crime, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, drugs, trafficking of human beings, money laundering.

riple Border Area Historical perspective

Growth in poverty strongly influences the increase in the number of prostitutes. There was a lot of money before, which also increased the demand.

Source: Demelenne, 2004:40-41.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 87 Committees were placed in charge of implementing programmes and action plans that were organized in a participatory manner and based on an analysis of each area’s situation. The Project envisaged three different action levels: National Action Plan, Local Action Plan and Local Action Programme. National Action Plans: ·Brazil - The National Plan for Confronting Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents (“Plano Nacional de Enfrentamento da Violência Sexual Infanto-Juvenil”) in existence since 200038. · The National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents in Paraguay (“Plan Nacional de Prevención y Eliminación de la Explotación Sexual de 39

Niños/as y Adolescentes en Paraguay”), first launched in 2003 . AWARENESS RAISING AND · The National Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour (“Plan Nacional para la Prevencion y Erradicacion del Trabajo Infantil”), in existence since 2002 in Argentina40. Its immediate objectives are: “to prevent and eradicate Commercial Sexual INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Exploitation of Children and Adolescents”. Local Action Plans were thought of as strategic designs to implement activities and protection in each zone. The Local Committees announced their action plans for the prevention and elimination of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in June, 2002. Their objectives are listed in Chart 6. Chart 6 - Action Plans

Foz do Iguaçu Action Plan Ciudad del Este Action Plan GENERAL OBJECTIVE GENERAL OBJECTIVE Prevention and Elimination of the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents Girls, Boys and Adolescents Specific Objective A: To build a Specific Objective A: To build a permanent data base on commercial permanent data base on commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents adolescents Specific Objective B: To fight crisis of Specific Objective B: To fight crisis of family values and provide awareness- family values raising for parents at all social levels on the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, its damages and risks 88 Foz do Iguaçu Action Plan Ciudad del Este Action Plan

Specific Objective C: To sensitize the Specific Objective C: Give pregnant hotel and business sector and tourist girls and mothers opportune and sector trade unions on the dangers of adequate knowledge on risks of commercial sexual exploitation of commercial sexual exploitation of children in general and of sexual children and adolescents tourism in particular Specific Objective D: Capacity Specific Objective D: Inform religious building among children, victims of groups (Social and Child Pastoral, commercial sexual exploitation, as priests, monks, nuns) of the dangers well as parents and adults of commercial sexual exploitation of responsible for children, offering girls, boys and adolescents them possibilities for vocational trainng courses, where they can acquire techniques and specialized knowledge to enable them to participate in the labour market in a dignified way Specific Objective E: To create Specific Objective E: To strengthen capacity-building nuclei related to the educational community in its commercial sexual exploitation of abilities to identify and prevent the girls, boys and adolescents in schools commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents Specific Objective F: To redeem the Specific Objective F: To establish a wife´s role in society and eliminate means to receive denunciation and the image that media spreads on channeling victims of commercial Brazilian women sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents Specific Objective G: To promote Specific Objective G: To provide public penal actions against medical care to victims of commercial perpetrators or responsible sexual exploitation of girls, boys and individuals for the crime of adolescents

riple Border Area commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents

Specific Objective H: “ART Specific Objective H: ´To promote EDUCATES” To use the cultural area public penal action against as means for awareness raising in the perpetrators or responsible individuals fight against commercial sexual for the crime of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents adolescents

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 89 Plan de Acción de Foz do Iguazú

Specific Objective I: To strengthen Specific Objective I: To create existing channels of receiving work opportunities in the formal denunciations through which, victims of sector of the economy commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents can be led efficiently Specific Objective J: To create work opportunities in the formal sector of the economy, promoting the establishment of industries in the area, through a system of incentives.

Due to the Puerto de Iguazú Committee’s peculiarities, the objectives of the Luz de Infancia Programme are: AWARENESS RAISING AND

Chart 7 - Objectives of the Luz de Infância Programme

General Objective INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING To contribute to the prevention and elimination of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in Argentina. Specific Objectives: Puerto Iguazú 1. Description of CSEC problems at the local level will have been done by the time of project completion, as well as community awareness raising and capacity building within this context. 2. Competent local institutions strengthened by the time of project completion. 3. Social reintegration of children achieved by the time of project completion. 4. It will have contributed to harmonizing and adapting the legislation in force, as well as its dissemination and application by the time of project completion. Specific National Objectives: 1. Characterize the problem at jurisdictional and local levels, by the time of project completion. 2. Competent jurisdictional and local institutions strengthened by project completion. 3. Awareness raised and social players and all of society informed as to the problems of CSEC institutions by project completion. 4. Projects will have been promoted and actions tending to diffuse and prevent CSEC by the time of project completion.

Local Action Programmes are Action Plans transformed into pilot projects that seek to realize certain policies. The objective of these actions, which are implemented by child and family care and protection networks (through Reference Centers set up in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este) was to reduce the amount of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, and to prevent their being recruited.

90 The mid-term evaluation performed by Demelenne (op.cit.) in August of 2003 identifies that due to the design of the action plans and programmes, committee members are required to learn new skills, such as: understanding the problem, identifying challenges and needs, knowing more about the Project’s objectives and strategies to mobilize institutions and key organizations in the search for objectives, and to negotiate, agree on objectives, strategies and actions. It might be said that until now, dozens of entities that were part of Local Committees did not know exactly what they were getting involved in. They knew little about the problem, as its dissemination took place through an external agenda. The fact that the Project had a very precise schedule of actions and results raised some doubts and insecurity with regard to doing so much in so little time. On the other hand, the fact that the Project had been planned to last three or four years caused those who were more settled to lose their mobility. In addition, it was also not clear exactly who the target group was and what their real needs were. In August 2003, with one year of work ahead of them, participants from the Intermediate Evaluation Seminar were divided into those who wanted greater control of commitments assumed by each organization and those who demanded greater autonomy. The Foz do Iguaçu Action Programme entailed the establishment of three Reference Centers by an interdisciplinary team (2 psychologists, 2 social workers, 1 teacher, 1 lawyer, 6 educators, 3 educators for street children).

Chart 8 - Foz do Iguaçu Reference Center Network 24-hour Reference Center 1/ Sentinela The Sentinela approaches girls, boys and adolescents in the street and has a 24- hour shelter for certain cases. The Sentinela counts with initial diagnosis (psychology and social service), a Law Room (legal support); referral to specialized health care units, plus general care and family visits. Reference Center 2 (Nossa Senhora Aparecida Social Society) The RC2 was set up at the Outpatient Clinic41, and offers gynecological, riple Border Area dermatological, odontological, neurological and psychological services. Reference Center 3 / Redescobrir The RC3 cared for children, families (parents and siblings) and the community at large through art education workshops; orientation groups; school support; school, family and social reinsertion; employment reinsertion; sports and leisure. A total of 97 beneficiaries were attended up to December 2003.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 91 The APs in Ciudad del Este involved capacity-building, the development of a data base, caregiving and taking in of individuals. Chart 9 - Ciudad del Este Action Programmes Esperanza Foundation42 Training related to cutting and sewing clothing for families and adolescents; learning how to cut and sew undergarments; manual work (wall painting, wood carving and recycling); hairdressing and serigraphy. According to the Final Output Report of this Action Programme and the Final Progress Report: 137 adults, 68 siblings of victims and 41 families trained; 37 families organized themselves in micro- enterprises; 96 adolescents between 14 and 18 years old prevented from getting involved with Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents. Those trained participated in workshops on cooperatives, micro-enterprises, human relations and attention to clients and PYMES. From then on, the first Micro- Entrepreneurship Association, called Sol Naciente, was established. The First Product Fair, e.g. homemade cookies, furniture etc. was also realized, and AWARENESS RAISING AND participation at the Junior Achievement Fair at the ZUNI Mall, with representatives from the Paraguayan-American Chamber of Commerce, City Councilmen, Executive Secretaries of the Alto Paraná Government, Senior ITAIPU Binacional officials,

entrepreneurs and businessmen visiting the Esperanza Foundation stand. Hiring INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING out of services initiated through the Foundation, such as carpentry, serigraphy, manufacturing and printing of T-shirts and school uniforms, key rings, posters, etc. The development of a data base, starting with family data of children taken in at the Pastoral Reception Center for Children of the Diocese of Ciudad del Este.

Child Care Center, Prevention and Follow-up (CEAPRA) A system of taking in and caring for individuals. Street educators are in charge of the care system, and some girls, boys are forwarded to judicial authorities. At the Center, they are received by a social worker. At the first interview, a psychologist evaluates the child’s or adolescent’s needs and sends him/her on to other services, and prepares a proposal for medical, sociological, legal, educational and social care. If the child/adolescent does not show up at the institute, it is communicated to the pastoral agent for monitoring. The reception system is divided into outside home, transitory home and permanent home. According to CEAPRA information, 351 children (3 male) were attended to in July 2004. Out of these, 203 were inserted into the 2004 school year; 49 were trained in garment-cutting and sewing/ apparel-making and leather craftsmanship, and 62 were trained in other professions by the Esperanza Foundation. Benefits for the families: 387 were directly or indirectly attended with medical care; 241 people were referred to the Tesai Foundation; legal assistance given to 197 girls, boys and their family members; siblings of beneficiaries reinserted in the formal education system; 141 families visited by social workers, seeking to restore family links; and delivery of basic food baskets by the social service assistance to about 80 families on a fortnightly basis.

92 The Puerto Iguazú Action Programme resulted in awareness-raising campaigns and responding to abuse denunciations, as part of the responsibility of the Soroptimist Chapter. A Reception Office for registering denunciations and information for victims of commercial sexual exploitation of children in dangerous situations was later set up. Several capacity-building exercises were part of the Action Programmes, focusing on the attitudes and behavior of government and non- government sectors, and of the actual Local Committees of the community networks and other local segments. Capacity-building actions until December 2004:

Chart 10 - Capacity-building actions performed Target Group

Foz do Iguaçu- Brazil Judicial and Police Sector - Capacity-building for 270 participants integrating the following institutions: Military Police, Civil Police, Federal Police, Federal Highway Police, Municipal Guard, IRS , Fire Brigade, Children’s Council, and Children’s Rights Council. Education Sector: - Capacity building for 90% of educational institutions (29 state schools, 54 municipal schools, 14 private schools and 17 social programmes), covering 192 educators. Others: Capacity building of the Little Guard for 120 youngsters; capacity building of NGOs and GOs for professionals and adolescents (Nosso Lar Foundation; 24- hour- Sentinela Programme; Vem-Ser-Home and Project; PETI and Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Society); capacity building at universities for professors and students (Uniamérica, Unioeste, Unifoz, Dinâmica and Angloamericana), with awareness raising for over 1,500 students; capacity building in hotels and for the tourism sector (Continental Inn and 300 tourism and hotel management students from three colleges and the SENAC. Several capacity-building workshops for journalists.

Ciudad del Este - Paraguay Teacher capacity building - Training 1,208 teachers: 881 female (72%) and 327

riple Border Area male (28%), working at 88 schools. Most trained teachers are primary school teachers. Over 80% have degrees in pedagogy and psychology, or are attending college. Educational zones participating in capacity building developed different Action Plans with proposals for 2004. In May, 2004, Ministry of Education continued to stimulate prevention activities, training 112 technical supervisors from the Alto Paraná Department, reaching 1,129 more teachers and passing information on to 15,441 school children. Summing up the results, we have 2,337 trained teachers.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 93 Training of judges, inspectors and police officers - 147 police officers at various levels, 32 members of the Department of Justice and Public Ministry, specialists in criminal law and the Brazilian Consul in Ciudad del Este. The Action Programme performed capacity building for other institutions - For professionals and officials involved in the direct care of project beneficiaries (6 professionals, 5 street educators, 2 monitors, 4 pastoral agents and 1 secretary). Awareness-raising meeting for different sectors of the community (taxi drivers, motel and hotel owners, alternative transport drivers, motorcycle boys, employees and owners of photo laboratories). Four awareness-raising workshops held, focusing on high school children of two Ciudad del Este schools and two in Presidente Franco (having also held dissemination and awareness- raising meetings directed at teachers of these schools). One information and awareness-raising workshop for psychology students at the Universidad Católica and another for pedagogy students of the Universidad Nacional del Este.Several capacity-building workshops for journalists. Capacity building for the tourist sector.

Results obtained - Capacity building of 41 employees and professionals of AWARENESS RAISING AND governmental and non-governmental organs; 11 cooperating institutions (Ministry of Education and Culture; Ministry of Justice; National Police; Catholic University; Universidad Particular del Este; Youth Pastoral; Tesai Foundation; Regional Health

Care Center; Itaipu Binacional Environmental Center Superintendency). Itaipu INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Binacional and Municipality of Ciudad del Este started cooperating with the Center for the Care, Prevention and Monitoring of Children (CEAPRA).

Puerto Iguazú Revitalization of the Luz de Infancia Project; capacity building seminar with Eva Yiverti for different sectors; two capacity-building workshops for journalists. With regard to punishing perpetrators, an attempt was made by the networks to dismantle criminal networks and punish exploiters in Foz, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazú. Its main objective was to reduce the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents by preventing their recruitment.

94 Chart 11 - Punishment Actions Police Station for Women and Tourists in Foz do Iguaçu The work started in February, 2003. The Local Committee included investigations in spotting prostitution points and their location. It has two investigators and also acts on denunciations received. It participates in blitzes by police and security forces. Joint work with the Ministry of Labour. RESULTS: December, 2003 - 9 children of commercial sexual exploitation; 35 imputations of crimes against common law; 8 adult victims. Participating in the Committee provided the opportunity of disseminating the necessity of creating a Shelter for Women, installed in December, 2004.

Criminal Investigation Public Prosecutor (PIC) Establishment of GERCO (Task Force for Repression of Organized Crime Repression) in Foz do Iguaçu, integrated by the Civil Police, Military Police and Justice Department. Formed by 10 police officers, including a Police Agent, a Captain and a Judiciary Lieutenant. Investigation of different news items of crimes involving sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. Being part of organized crime, repression is more difficult and demands a more thorough investigation. A great number of information has already been gathered and is being investigated. It is believed that the most important hub of sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents and responsible individuals in the area of Foz do Iguaçu will soon be found.

Experiences in the Legal Room of 24hour-Sentinela Reference Center 1/

WHAT IT IS - Implementation of a Legal Room with a law professional in April, 2003. Closed down upon completion of the Project. It was conceived as a space for citizenship (document regularization, actions in jurisprudence and legal aspects, dispatching beneficiaries to necessary agencies, orientation for institutions that are part of the network and for beneficiary´s family members). Its jobs were extended to sexually exploited girls, boys and adolescents attended to by the network, which eventually had committed any infraction or were complying with socio-educative measures as a consequence of their actions, in accordance with the ECA. Its secondary objective was to help in the fight against impunity and society´s awareness raising, for the confrontation with child-related violations and violence, using the strategy of electing exemplary cases and involving families to provide visibility for the acts. RESULTS in DECEMBER, 2003 - Attendance to 213 children and 268 families,

riple Border Area regulation of 120 documents for schoolchildren and family members; sending drug- addicted children to recovery clinics (1 interned and 9 on the way). Denunciation Hotline answers calls 24 hours a day and provides channeling, by active street educators, to the Child Protection Council, the Civil Police, the Federal Police, the Child Secretariat and Criminal Investigation Procecutor’s Office. Between January and December, 2003, 110 denouncements were received, among them were sixteen (16) of sexual abuse, fifty-seven (57) of sexual exploitation and forty-eight (48) of physical aggression and other problems. One hundred and ten (110) people were led to competent denunciation agencies, due to aggression and discrimination, besides other violations of a child’s fundamental rights.iminación y otras violaciones

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) de los derechos fundamentales de los educandos. 95 Protection Nucleus for Children who are Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse/Nucria Established December 2004, by the Paraná State Government.

Actions in Ciudad del Este Justice Department, National Police and CEAPRA carried out 22 joint interventions at CSEC points, between May 2003 and April 2004. 37 denouncements of CSEC were presented, only 1 was processed for child pornography and oral judgement was suspended.

Actions in Puerto Iguazú Establishment of a case investigation committee, including advertisements in the press.

AWARENESS RAISING AND 3.3. Developments With the final date set for the end of the Project for the Prevention and

Elimination of the Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and Adolescents at INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border, each country has tried to find its own solutions for the Project’s sustainability, as initially envisaged and expected by ILO. The Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and Adolescents was formed in Foz do Iguaçu on May 18, 2003, on the occasion of the CIRANDA Campaign. In addition to Foz do Iguaçu, the network has members joining from the entire state of Paraná, from official organizations to civil society. However, by the end of 2004, a series of crises shook the Foz do Iguaçu Local Committee. Changes were made in its coordination and composition. Itaipu Binacional, an enterprise with enormous economic and political power in the area, was one of the reasons for the Committee’s reorganization. One of the Project’s most important contributions was to make it clear how important it is to have public policies that focus on direct attention to families. These did not exist in the municipality. Consequently, the Healthy Family Programme was established as part of the Nosso Lar Foundation, whose objectives are: to have contact with the family, to propose a list of material needs (health, work, therapeutic care, scholarships, basic food baskets etc.), professional case studies. Other benefits include Family Therapy, Marriage Counseling and Group Therapy. The Nosso Lar Foundation is also responsible for the work of the Childrens’ Rights Defense Center (CEDEDICA) whose objectives are to ensure public civil action for the protection of children’s individual and collective rights, 96 to develop and propose actions for the defense of these rights, to arrange visits to agencies and care units for the identification of irregular circumstances, to write up reports and obtain subsidies, to monitor proceedings and receive denunciations of rights violations of children and adolescents, forwarding them to competent agencies or making whatever arrangements are necessary. As a result of three years of ILO/IPEC activity in the city, there is now a Care Network Programme for Children in Situations of Commercial Sexual Exploitation, or Acordar43, which has been in place since January 2005. A joint initiative with the Local Committee and government sectors of education, health, justice and security, it entails the direct interventions and close inter-institutional coordination of four entities: (1) Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Society - responsible for: health care for children removed from and protected against commercial sexual exploitation, legal support, the management of the Denunciation Hotline Service, and strengthening the Parents-Making-Art Cooperative (micro-production family enterprise); (2) Nosso Lar Foundation - will be responsible for strengthening the family structure through the Healthy Family Programme, facilitating the process of reinsertion into the family and the community, and for vocational training of children entering the care network; (3) Casa do Teatro (Theater House) - the education-through- art approach. Responsible for dealing with girls and boys removed from commercial sexual exploitation, with the intention of strengthening their self-esteem through different activities, such as plays, dance, and music. It is expected that, by having access to non-formal education, girls and boys will be motivated to go for formal schooling. It will do communal and school awareness raising and mobilization, managing the Mobile Unit (bus equipped for street performances of theater plays); and (4) the Centre for Solidarity-Based Actions on AIDS (NASA)44, which will act as an entry to the network care system, with the responsibility of mapping areas of high incidence of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, which continue to exist in Foz. It will be its riple Border Area job to remove, motivate and move 130 children (70% girls and 30% boys) to integral care actions in the three aforementioned organizations. Starting in April 2005, the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Civil Society signed an agreement with the Municipality of Foz do Iguaçu for the execution of the Sentinela Project. This is significant, since it is an NGO concerned with the overall care of children and their families, and has already left its mark on network activity.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 97 Two institutions pledged their support during the Project’s implementation in Ciudad del Este. This was fundamental for achieving the goals of the Ministry of Culture and Justice. It was possible to jointly implement a personal development process, with the reinsertion in schools of victims and their siblings, and punish perpetrators of sexual exploitation. The Justice Department assigned four Fiscal Inspectors in Ciudad del Este to investigate denunciations, and one in the town of Hernandarias. A Special Unit for Children and Adolescents is now being trained to respond to different cases of abuse suffered by minors in the municipality of Ciudad del Este, while the Ministry of Education has assigned a Supervisor to backstop all capacity-building and awareness-raising actions for teachers and the target population’s re-insertion in school, one of the Project’s main objectives.

In addition to these institutions there were universities that deserve AWARENESS RAISING AND special mention, such as the Catholic University and the Nacional del Este University. The former offered dental care and laboratory tests to victims, using Dentistry and Biochemistry students, while the latter

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING offered support to victims and their siblings in the areas of Mathematics and Communication, with the help of Education students. Health institutions also offered professionals to assist victims and their families, as well as the National Police, which assigned staff to monitor investigations and hold permanent guard at the CEAPRA. The Paraguayan team also acknowledged the participation of Itaipu Binacional, which, besides paying the Center’s rent, basic services and the children´s food, it also donated a car for visits to families. The Alto Paraná Child Protection Network was established in April 2004, to tackle problems that affect children in general. Its main objective is to stimulate the participation and joint efforts of the different social segments (citizens, politicians, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, government, trade unions, associations, schools and universities). The announcement of ILO’s “withdrawal” process is being accompanied by some tension, as is the closing down of CEAPRA. This is fortunately being reviewed by the Diocese, although the team will change. The decision to create a network to protect children in general, and not just the victims of commercial sexual exploitation, is a reflection of the Local Committee’s awareness with regard to possibilities of institutional development and political management. Today, Ciudad del Este is the Paraguayan city with the most experience nationwide in fighting the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. It also has the greatest number of subject-related 98 qualified people and agencies. Therefore, in January 20, 2005, the Paraguayan National Secretariat for Children and Adolescents, in partnership with Itaipu Binacional, launched the Integral Child Protection and Promotion Project in the neighboring town of Hernandarias. The office was inaugurated by the Minister for Children’s Rights of Paraguay, the Brazilian Special Secretary for Human Rights, the Argentinian Social Development Department Cabinet Chief, the State Secretary for the Repatriated and Refugees Abroad, the General Director of Itaipu and area authorities, besides representatives of international organizations, including ILO. The office shall provide legal care and assistance to victims, deal with legal adequation, and the regulation and punishment of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. It will also offer general protection and assistance by electronic means. A data base on border problems of the three countries will be established. This is the nation´s first government action in fighting the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. Its formulation was amply discussed with members of the Local Committee, further proof of the unquestionable institutional strengthening in the area. In Puerto Iguaçu, the Luz de Infancia Programme is faced with serious problems due to its governmental affiliation. The government changes that have taken place since it came into power have also led to changes in coordination (since the position is filled by an official nominee, the Committee has already had three coordinators) and periods of near inactivity. Thanks to the perseverance of local players, they managed to get a local team together, with a technical coordinator, three street- based operators, a psychologist and a social worker, in addition to a small rotative fund and some office items. As a result of the team’s work, several denunciations were received and investigated. The aggressors in question were jailed. The Puerto Iguazú Local Committee is currently working in the education, health, security and justice sectors. The Technical Coordinator is focusing

riple Border Area her work on schools, because at one of the last workshops it was concluded that the absence of values must be reversed to strengthen the families’ ability to keep their children at home. Luz de Infancia has a radio programme (FM 92.1) every Saturday from 8 to 10 a.m. Each episode has a special guest speaking about a specific topic (the Programme’s objectives, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, etc.). They answer parents’ questions and register denunciations, mostly anonymous. The programme’s guests have already included

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 99 pediatricians, gynecologists, psychologists, social workers and Committee members. According to the Programme’s action schedule, the challenges for 2005 are: organize meetings in community restaurants in different neighborhoods, with the objective of raising the awareness of the most vulnerable segment of the city’s population on the problems of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents; work with the regional technical team that is known as “2000 has”, in the Unión and Los Tabajadores districts and surroundings; arrange spots on radio and TV; receive/register denunciations of cases of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents; form a network with the Eldorado (neighboring municipality) Security Forces and Court; start a data base; keep record of cases handled since the beginning of the Programme; implement capacity-building seminars for law enforcement AWARENESS RAISING AND groups. The principal challenge for the Luz de Infancia Programme, with regard to its sustainability, is its socialization at the provincial and national levels.

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING With regard to the Project‘s international profile, the creation of the Trinational Committee is still just on paper. The problems encountered by Local Committees in each country have made it extremely difficult to consider the region a possible action unit in areas as complex as prevention, care and punishment. Nevertheless, this was indeed possible in one of the main sectors for fighting perpetrators: the law enforcement sector. One of the most successful aspects of the overall programme was the establishment of a Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Group. The importance of coordinating efforts between the three countries for localized legal-police actions was demonstrated during the workshop on “Coordinated Actions of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Group at the Triple Border” in December 2003, with the presence of police officers, children’s judges, attorneys, immigration officers, customs officials, child protection councils and representatives of municipalities and consulates. The workshop’s main objectives were to analyze options for the establishment of a coordinated effort between law enforcement officers at the Triple Border to strengthen the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the region and identify joint capacity-building needs.45 The law enforcement officers held another meeting on August 3 and again on September 28, 2004 in Ciudad del Este, and in March 2005, in

100 Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguaçu. A Plan for Trilateral Cooperation was discussed between Local Governments and the Committees of Law Enforcement Officials in the three cities, for the implementation of policies to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents at the Triple Border. The plan was approved at a final seminar in May 2005 in Foz do Iguaçu. It both defines the mechanisms for continuity and establishes a monitoring group for its implementation.

3.4. Good Practices After analyzing the results of interviews, with regard to good practices, we found from rather vague answers, such as “establishment of networks”, to very specific ones like “the signing of Terms of Commitment with Mayors”. In other words, the selection of two very good practices is quite an arbitrary exercise. We must remember that the term good practice could have very different meanings, depending on who the person asked is and where he/she is coming from. In Brazil, “good practices” in institutional strengthening implies the capacity-building of Local Committee and Action Programme members; changes in the administrative management of organizations; the opening of reference centers and the construction of reference center networks; the establishment of a Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Group; the signing of a Term of Commitment by the elected Mayor of Foz do Iguaçu; the signing of Terms of Commitment between the Department of Labour, hotels, motels and taxi drivers; the Parliamentary Mixed Committee of Inquiry for Sexual Exploitation that is visiting the city; the occupation of the Friendship Bridge on June 12, 2003; attendance at the Workshop on Good Practices in Cartagena; the membership of a company the size of Itaipu; the start of network experiences; financial contribution by the Secretariat for Human Rights, allowing the Care Programme’s sustainability and the establishment of the NUCRIA.

riple Border Area In Paraguay, “good practices” in institutional strengthening were the joint work of NGOs and GOs: the establishment of the Alto Paraná Local Network for Child Protection; the work with teachers; the establishment of the Alto Paraná Unit for Human Rights and the establishment of a Law Enforcement Officials Working Group. In Argentina, capacity building for local players, work with teachers and the establishment of a Law Enforcement Officials Working Group were considered “good practices”.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 101 In all three countries the importance of the region “having woken up to the issue” and the general population having become aware of the problem were highlighted. In this universe, which is full of hints and clues, our challenge was to identify only two “good practices”, as requested by ILO. They are: GOOD PRACTICE NO. 1 THE NETWORK-BUILDING PROCESS a) Network of Fighting Commercial Sexual Exploitaion of Children and Adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu and b) Local Protection Network for Children and Adolescents in Alto Paraná, and Ciudad del Este.

GOOD PRACTICE NO. 2

AWARENESS RAISING AND THE BUILDING OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS’ WORKING GROUP Since the identification of “good practices” is considered an essential exercise for the construction, intervention, prevention, protection and INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING rehabilitation of models that can be replicated in different contexts, we are of the opinion that we should select at least one that could be useful at other international border areas. 3.4.1 The Network-Building Process The building of networks had been envisaged since the start of Project implementation. Among the Committee’s main objectives was the construction of a “Protection Network” to counteract the‘“Exploitation Network”. The network concept was doubtless big news for the area46. There are numerous reports about it: “Managing to get NGOs to work together with GOs was very important. Although many efforts had been made in this direction, it had never succeeded before. ILO was an external element that made the problem visible.” (Local Committee member of Ciudad del Este). “The possibility of engaging the network was very important. There was a lot of interaction between the different entities. Before, everyone used to work on their own. Institutions realized that the problem was common to all and that it was necessary to join forces. Today it is known that I can count on that agency. Before we had no inclination to work together.””(Member of the Foz do Iguaçu Local Committee) 102 “Here in Foz, we had a very big problem, a structural, cultural thing in the city, which was the difficulty of working in groups, in networks. It was a real anthropological thing, one wanting to destroy the other one’s work. Historically, the institutions were not used to networking. This programme was really the beginning of everything”. (Member of the Foz do Iguaçu Local Committee) It is interesting to observe that references to “networks” were only about criminal networks.47 So in February 2002, the head of the Regional Bureau of the Secretariat for Child and Family Matters in Foz do Iguaçu used the expression “protection network” to refer to the network protecting exploiters (hotels, motels, taxi drivers, brothels, etc.)48 in the same sense that “networks of drug, arms and human trafficking” was being used or “recruitment networks”. It was the implementation of the Project that first gave and disseminated a different impression of a network among local parties. According to the ILO terms of reference, the objective of the studies related to the institutional offer was “to identify how the childcare network functions”. Although “hospital networks”, “school networks” etc. were mentioned in this study, it only identified existing government, social assistance and NGO organizations in a rather uneven way. It showed that the expression ”network” existed before it was really solidified, or even before this type of cooperation was perceived as a necessity. Since the Project envisaged “network care”, the different organizations and local entities had to sit down and work together, perhaps for the first time ever. Local Committees were an important laboratory, as were the Care Networks. Based on these experiences, it was possible to create the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, boys and Adolescents in May, 2003, in Foz do Iguaçu. It brought together representatives from civil society and government agencies, with riple Border Area hundreds of members from all over the State of Paraná. “A Combat Network was then established, with Terms of Membership and the electronic bulletin “Networking Action” (Ação em Rede) which began disseminating the name of organizations that had joined. The list included 450 organizations. Many went and did no more than sign. But there were other institutions that got actively involved, like the Universidade Federal do Paraná and the Colleges of

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 103 Foz and Ciudad del Este.” (Member of local ILO agency/Foz do Iguaçu) As we will see in Chapter 4, the foundation was a result of a campaign led by Ciranda that proposed the formation of a “protection network against the network of sexual exploitation of children”. Divided into five segments (education, communication, sports and leisure, tourism and security), the creation of the network was announced in April 2003: “We will launch a communication campaign whose focus will be mainly on showing society that if everyone does his/her part, we can eradicate this problem. From punishing the aggressor, to caring for the victim, to denunciation. This is a social problem that belongs to the Triple Border, which has so much to gain by eliminating the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents”. AWARENESS RAISING AND (Ciranda’s Lílian Romão’s statement on the “PR TV”, Rede Globo, April 12, 2004).

As a result of deliberations that took place during the seminar conducted INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING in Foz do Iguaçu in December 2003, on the “Progress and Challenges of Networks against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Triple Border”, a mini-programme for strengthening the Local Committee was implemented in February 2004 in Ciudad del Este. This mini-programme resulted in the creation of a much broader network, going beyond commercial sexual exploitation and incorporating other types of institutions (homes, shelters, women´s groups, and churches). Furthermore, this is a departmental network (the Alto Paraná Department) that is fighting for the rights of girls, boys and adolescents. In view of the planned ILO withdrawal, the creation of the network was the solution that the Local Committee found to ensure sustainability. “Through the network we want to learn how to form alliances, confront the problem, and be active participants in public policy making.” (Statement of a Ciudad del Este Local Committee member in theSylvia Carvalho49 Programme) The Alto Paraná Child Protection Network was then established to deal with general problems that affect both girls, boys and adolescents, and to stimulate the participation and joint actions of different social segments.

104 Since then, the actual building up of the network has been difficult and slow. Much remains to be done50. During an assessment at the beginning of 2005, a programme member summed up the situation very clearly: “The great challenge was to function as a network. Groups discuss networking in theory, but when it comes to the actual practice, the institutions start working independently again. This creates a great deal of conflict and antagonism”. On a global level, the concept of the network was strengthened after the so-called UN Social Cycle was realized. This occurred during the same decade, in the 1990s, that consolidated the increase in the access to global computer networks. Civil society entities, participating in forums that ran parallel to large international events, established and disseminated the concept and the practice of “networking action” as well as the idea of “social observatories”. In a more radical sense,‘“network management” meant incorporating the essential values of a horizontal culture with liberty and solidarity51. More than that, the network would be the translation of a policy of emancipation in its organizational design, whose ends and means are not that different52. The process of network construction that was begun in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este was faced with the challenge that the conceptual idea of the network and practical work should be adjusted and realigned. It is a sophisticated concept and practice, which will have one of its most complex fronts in this border area, still marked by traditional and organizational policy practices. According to the statement of a Project member in Foz do Iguaçu, it seems that, despite all the difficulties, things have changed: “Today we identify problems at the border area and go back to the problems identified at the trinational seminar in 2002. The discussions held by Committee members show that the group has grown and matured. We even have a

riple Border Area proposal for a trinational observatory. The group has progressed considerably. Three years ago we talked about caring for the child victim; today we talk about caring for the families. The players have changed. We don’t start from scratch anymore. The topic is firmly implanted in the local agenda. We have taken a great leap forward”.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 105 Along similar lines, an Action Programme member in Ciudad del Este considers the creation and development aspect of the network one of the Project´s most positive aspects: “The establishment of a Rights Protection Network for Children and Adolescents also motivated the establishment of the CSEC Committee and the Shelter Network. The latter, as solicited by CEAPRA, takes into account that institutions, especially judges, fiscal inspectors and Codeni were constantly sending children who were not part of the Project´s target group. The Shelter Network was established for that reason, with a description of the respective profiles in order to ensure adequate channeling and care depending upon the case”.

AWARENESS RAISING AND It can be observed that in both cases, the idea of the network, despite all the difficulties, is being assimilated and adopted by local players, with numerous long-term gains. 3.4.2 - Establishment of the Law Enforcement Officers’ INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Working Group One of the Project´s main thrusts was in the legislative area. For the ILO it was clear that being an international border area, fighting CSEC would only be possible if there was harmonization. This could only occur once the relevant legislation of each country, as well as the necessary changes in the international agreements, had been defined. It was known that the Triple Border was a propicious terrain for organized crime and impunity. But this situation would not change without the Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Groups and security forces from the three countries knowing their own legislation and that of their neighbors, as well as the terms of international agreements signed by the respective countries. Consequently, two highly detailed legal studies of Brazil and Paraguay53 were conducted and disseminated at the Seminar on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Argentina/Brazil/ Paraguay Triple Border: Prevention and Elimination. It should be noted that in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, we have a concentration of law enforcement officers in two areas, criminal law and labour law, since this is considered one of the worst forms of child labour, according to ILO Convention 182. However, this understanding is not consensual

106 between the main players who are active in this area at the national level. There is some resistance to considering commercial sexual exploitation a form of child labour. This made the dialogue between the National Forum on the Elimination of Child Labour and the National Committee for Confronting CSEC difficult in Brazil, with counterproductive results in the development of public policies, given that the government has important partners in both forums. The insertion of ILO in this scenario strengthened the point of view of those who seek to analyze the problem according to criminal and labour aspects. This was the case of the Brazilian Public Labour Department, in the words of Dr. Eliane Araque: “The Project facilitated the action of the Ministry of Labour because it also characterizes and understands the matter as labour. (…) It is very difficult to see the problem from the point of view of labour. It implies that other aspects of the matter will be set aside, like that of necessity (…). It is a difficult subject because we are also not knowledgeable in the penal area. We should explore this with the Justice Department (…) But if you do not accept the labour point of view, you are not seeing all aspects of the matter. It is difficult to talk about compensation. But the fact that you say it is work is important, because children and adolescents and families live from it. Through this approach, you protect the child much more, because you do not consider him/ her only the victim of a crime. You place him/her in a broader horizon and protect him/her from being a victim again. The problem of the family, their livelihood, autonomy, consumption, and the needs of adolescents cannot be disregarded.” It is expected that the Law Enforcement Officers Working Group will tackle this matter at its round table debates and discussions. Local ILO

riple Border Area project offices called the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents “the worst form of child labour” on several occasions: (1) in November 2001, in Asunción during the realization of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Seminar organized by the Ministry of Labour and ILO/IPEC, where projects to be implemented in Paraguay were presented: Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu; and (2) the greatest public mobilization effort carried out during project implementation on

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) June 12, 2003, exactly on the World Day against Child Labour, when the 107 Local Committees from the three countries occupied the Friendship Bridge (Ponte da Amizade). Law Enforcement Officers have been playing an active role ever since Project implementation. Nevertheless, combating crime at the Triple Border imposes a much greater challenge in the form of drug and arms trafficking and smuggling54. Actions taken by ILO and the committees were fundamental for making the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents a part of the agenda. But it was not an easy process. One example is a police case that was registered on November 12, 2002. That day, what would become the landmark case of the complexity of the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents at the Triple Border took place in Foz do Iguaçu. The Child Protection Council apprehended a

AWARENESS RAISING AND Paraguayan driver having sexual intercourse with an Argentinian adolescent in his truck. Her agent, also Argentinian, was taken to the police station. The adults were released, while the child was kept in the

custody of the Child Protection Council. Outraged, the counselors publicly INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING accused the civil police of involvement with the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. In response, the police delegate stated that the Child Protection Council is not authorized to interfere in crimes handled by the police55. Since then, this case has been evoked every time it was necessary to emphasize the importance of Law Enforcement Officers from the three countries in fighting crime. There is a schedule of actions in the security and legal areas that shows the progress made since the beginning of the Project’s implementation. Although already included in item 3, it is worth mentioning again. February, 2003 - Establishment of a Police Station for Women and Tourists in Foz do Iguaçu. April, 2003 - Reference Center 1 (Sentinela) Legal Room being implemented in Foz do Iguaçu. May, 2003 - The Public Labour Department invites the Foz do Iguaçu hotel sector to sign the “Terms of Commitment.”

Terms of Commitment In reality, these were Terms of Conduct Adjustment, whereby the establishments (hotels) commit themselves (1) not to hire or use the labour of children under 16 years of age and, of over 16, they may only

108 be permitted, once they have guaranteed all workers’ and social welfare rights, respecting the prohibiton of unhealthy, dangerous, night-time and painful work for those under 18, considering art. 227 and art. 7º., XXXIII of the Brazilian Constitution, Administrative Rule nr. 20/2001 Labour Department Inspection Secretariat, arts 5º., 82 e 224-A of the Child Statute and art. 405, II, of the Consolidation of Labour Laws; ( 2) not to allow the hiring of children and adolescents under 18 years of age, who are not accompanied by parents or a responsible person; (3) not to spread nor permit the dissemination of material offering sexual services; (4) to realize, within 6 months, capacity-building workshops for all of its workers, in partnership with the Local Committee; (5) to inform on the ECA; (6) to orient their workers on resorting to the Child Protection Council, as well as to the Committee when in doubt, for information solicitation, etc.; (7) to obtain information on the Fight against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents and the Committee for Adolescents, which grants the Seal of Adhesion; (8) to help in fixing posters of the campaign against CSEC, when solicited by the Local Committee or by the Labour Department. Fines for non- compliance of obligations is ten thousand Reais56 for each child found in an irregular situation and for each obligation that is not complied with, to be reverted to the Municipal Fund for Children and Adolescents. The Terms of Commitment were controlled by the regional Labour Delegacy, State Justice Department, Labour Department, Local Committee of Prevention and Elimination of CSEC and /or Child Protection Council. June, 2003 - Actions of the police and security forces, and members of the Puerto de Iguazú, Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu Local Committees were fundamental for the mobilization effort on the Friendship Bridge. June, 2003 - In Foz do Iguaçu, an international trafficker of young girls was apprehended. This was considered a landmark with regard to punishment.

riple Border Area July, 2003 - The Child Protection Council of Foz do Iguaçu removes two Brazilian girls from a brothel in Los Cedrales (Paraguay) with the support of the Ciudad del Este Prosecutor‘s Office and the Paraguayan National Police. August, 2003 - The first Task Force against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents was unleashed in Foz do Iguaçu, with the participation of the Ministry of Labour, Child Protection Council, and Federal and Civil Police.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 109 October, 2003 - Establishment of the Working Group for the Prevention of Organized Crime (GERCO) in Foz do Iguaçu, integrating the Civil and Military Police and Justice Department. All denunciations involving the sexual exploitation of minors are channeled to the Prosecutor’s Office for Criminal Investigations (PIC). October, 2003 - Investigation of the Mixed Parliamentary Investigation Committee on Sexual Exploitation in Foz do Iguaçu. October, 2003 - Capacity building of police officers in Foz do Iguaçu. November, 2004 - Capacity building of police officers in Ciudad del Este.

All these experiences were systematized in the workshop on the AWARENESS RAISING AND “Coordinated Action of Law Enforcement Officers at the Triple Border” that took place in December 2003 in Foz do Iguaçu. Representatives from the Police, Children’s Courts, Fiscal Inspection Department/Public Departments, Customs, Child Rights Councils, and Municipalities and INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Consulates all participated. On this occasion, the results of comparative studies on Brazilian, Argentinian and Paraguayan laws were presented, drawn up by consultants contracted by the Project. The same exercise was officially launched at the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace), the seat of the Brazilian Government, on May 18, 2004, and afterwards in workshops for law enforcement officers in Asunción and Ciudad del Este. It focused on the book: “Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents in the Argentinian, Brazilian and Paraguayan Legislations: Alternatives for Harmonization for the MERCOSUR”, by Marcia Anita SPRANDEL, Henrique José Antão de CARVALHO and Adriana Mourão ROMERO. This book was published in Portuguese and Spanish and has been a guide for Law enforcement official workshops held in the area from August 2004 onwards. Seguiendo la cronología, tenemos: In chronological order, we have: May, 2004 - The Public Department of Paraná announces the creation of a Public Prosecutor’s Office for the Department of Justice, specializing in fighting crimes committed against boys, girls and adolescents; the Judicial Power, on the other hand, announces the creation of a Criminal Court that specializes in fighting crimes committed against boys, girls; and the Government of the State of

110 Paraná announces the establishment of an agency specializing in fighting crimes committed against minors, the Nucleus for the Protection of Children and Adolescents who are Victims of Violence - NUCRIA. July, 2004 - Final Report of the CPMI on Sexual Exploitation is disseminated. The report discusses cases investigated in Foz do Iguaçu and Hernandárias. Sent to the Brazilian Government, the CPMI suggests urgently signing a cooperative agreement with the countries of the Triple Border, to make criminal agents who promote trafficking of women and adolescent for purposes of sexual exploitation responsible for their actions. November, 2004 - The Ministry of Labour invites motel owners and presidents of the taxi drivers’ cooperative and trade union to sign the Terms of Commitment. December, 2004 - Signing of Terms of Commitment by the tourist sector in Ciudad del Este. December, 2004 - Establishment of the Nucleus for the Protection of Children and Adolescents who are Victims of Violence - NUCRIA, in Foz do Iguaçu. Presently, the creation of a union between the cities of the Brazil/ Paraguay/Argentina border is being discussed, to fight the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents, in order to harmonize the municipal legislations of the three countries regarding punishment for this type of crime. It is intended that councilmen of Foz, Puerto Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este hold a joint session in order to discuss laws that severely punish those who commit such crimes57. The Law Enforcement Officers’ Group is involved in formulating the Trilateral Cooperation Plan between Local Governments, Committees and Law Enforcement Officers for the implementation of policies relating to the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls

riple Border Area and adolescents in the Triple Border Area. A seminar with this objective, held on May 12 and 13, 2005, had excellent results. On the first day, law enforcement officers from each country taught each another how denunciation, investigation, punishment and victim´s rights actually work in practice. By so doing, they made more progress in the area of legislative harmonization than on any other occasion. What could be seen there, was the mutual transmission of how the institutions and laws of each country operate. Furthermore, participants

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 111 left the event knowing who to appeal to (establishment, name of responsible person, telephone numbers, etc.) in the case of crimes involving boys, girls and adolescents and/or agressors from other countries. From the event on November 12, 2002 until the present, police action and juridical monitoring have made considerable progress. The capacity building of local players in the two areas was fundamental for success. As a result of the Project, it is inadmissible to think of any policy, either nationally or in the MERCOSUR framework that concerns the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents that does not take into consideration the law enforcement officer groups and their deliberations. This is also valid for a broader agenda that includes the trafficking of human beings and illegal immigration. There are still some major challenges ahead, including continuous training with regard to human rights, but the Law Enforcement Officers’ Group will know how AWARENESS RAISING AND to deal with them competently, being extremely knowledgeable on local issues and international cooperation as few others are.

3.5. Lessons Learned INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Interviews concerning lessons learned were richer than those identifying good practices. Far from being an indicator of failure, it seems to be the proof of the involvement of local players in the Project and the development of a critical ability, which is fundamental for the continuity of the network. From an analysis of documents and interviews, we identify as “lessons learned”: the local players’ lack of knowledge about the problem’s complexity, the “plastercasting” of actions due to ILO timeframes and planning, the way Local Committees work, the importance of capacity- building, the necessity of discussing public policies, difficulties in contracting qualified personnel, lack of time, and work methodology. The confirmation that the problem was much more complex than initially thought emerges in several documents and testimonies. Although members of the Local Committees were aware of the problem, very few of them had a notion about the considerable problems they would have when working directly with victims. It was only when caring for the boys, girls and adolescents that they realized that there were severe psychological, social and legal problems. How to differenciate (and based on that ideally exclude) between boys, girls and adolescents who are victims of sexual abuse, and boys, girls and adolescents who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation? How to handle children and adolescents who are victims of such deep trauma? How to deal with 112 children and adolescents without dealing with their families? How to handle teams that worked in Reference Centers and had to feel up to being able to deal with so much personal disaster and traumas that sometimes echoed their own life stories? How to determine who could benefit, or not, from the centers? How to deal with underage offenders who were also victims of commercial sexual exploitation? How to handle the tension caused by threats by perpetrators or even customers? “ILO brought the project all ready without preliminary consultations, and it was a topic that was difficult for the people. It took a year before people even had any idea about what had to be done. So one year was lost, and that is how long the project still needs for its completion.”(Member of the Ciudad del Este Local Committee). “I looked at the AP and started laughing because I was very innocent. I had thought that things could be settled just with a nice house, nice tables, little flowers…” (Member of the Foz do Iguaçu reference center). “Problems were complex and it was not possible to deal with them simply and immediately”. (Staff member of reference center in Ciudad del Este). “One could not be amateurish. We were stirring up a hornet´s nest”. (Staff member of reference center in Foz do Iguaçu). Add to all this the limited experience the coordination and caregiving teams had in dealing with the problem. Despite the acknowledged individual abilities, people had no previous knowledge about managing such ambitious projects, as they had never worked directly with boys, girls and adolescents who were victims of commercial sexual abuse, and with the crime factor on top of that. It was as difficult for ILO to

riple Border Area start implementing the Project, as it was for Action Programme Coordinators to implement Reference Centers: “One of the lessons learned was the necessity of choosing the correct professionals. He/she has to be able to cope with stress, with the fear of the exploiter, and has to be somewhat prepared and able. There is a lot of tension in that area.” (Reference Center staff member). “It is necessary to train specialized human resources for

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) caregiving. There are no such professionals on the market. 113 (...) Psychological support should also be provided to the workers or people dealing with these problems. We have to teach the trainers.” “People were trained well at the beginning. Today they know how to design a project and produce reports. (…) We had trouble selecting people. Nobody in this area had prior experience on how to execute a US$ 260,000 project!”(ILO staff member) Some examples of difficulties: the detention of an underage offender in an Iguaçu Reference Center and denunciations published by the Ciudad del Este press agencies about a local reference center not attending to a pregnant street adolescent with serious mental problems, but who was not a victim of commercial sexual exploitation.

AWARENESS RAISING AND Members of Local Committees, on the other hand, complain about the “plastercasting” of the project by the ILO. When they realized the problem´s complexity and identified alternative ways of dealing with it, there was no way to review targets and timeframes, which would have INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING allowed them to make the changes considered necessary at times. “When the dust is rising, there is no appropriate schedule for dealing with the problem. A social disease needs to be studied with a lot of variables. ILO identified the disease, but forgot to consider the environment. It came with $ 230 thousand to tackle the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, without realizing that it is a consequence of poverty, of misery at the border. Then you work with the families but you can´t use the money, because ILO bureaucracy does not permit that. ILO should invest less money and allow more freedom on how to spend it. One could achieve much more with much less. Less in material, more in personnel.(...). Brazil has ways of solving its problems with a little money and a lot of mobilization, where everyone can participate.” (Member of the Foz do Iguaçu Local Committee). “What harmed the work was the ILO’s financial and bureaucratic ‘plastercasting’.” (Member of the Ciudad del Este Local Committee). “I heard from different committee members, who were tormented by schedules and the complexity of the problem,

114 the following phrase: “If you don’t know how to heal, don´t mess with the wound.” (ibidem) This “messing with the wound” reflects the annoyance caused by Project implementation. The problem of the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents already existed in the area to varying degrees of visibility and awareness. ILO made it so that something was actually done about it. By “raising dust”, it was discovered that the problem was much more serious than had been imagined, with more psychological, penal, economic and political repercussions. “It was not possible to reallocate resources for other necessities. We were working with a poverty-stricken population who needed them. It was essential to provide immediate incentives. It was necessary to invest in the perspective of what the family needs, as if it were bait, a counterpart. (…) Our proposal of income generation was for the long term. And the families need money today.” (Foz do Iguaçu Local Committee member). “I had never worked with outside financing. The financer has the autonomy to impose rules. But I also needed autonomy to get the Programme flowing. It was an entanglement of rules and regulations and the thing did not flow.” (Foz do Iguaçu reference center staff member). The stressful relationship between the ILO and members of the Local Committees/Action Programmes also becomes apparent from interviews with national staff members from the institution. For some of them, it was a mistake to establish local offices, which resulted in an undesirable overlapping between ILO and Local Committees. “There should not be any local ILO offices. They started out by doing a lot, becoming a support mechanism for the Local Committee. (…) But the Action Programme was to be

riple Border Area implemented by civil society. (…) It is a great problem that the office was seen as an Action Programme. ILO played too great a role.” (ILO staff member). This situation was harmful to local institutional strengthening, but was partially justified by the needs of ILO staff to protect themselves under the ILO umbrella when dealing with local affairs and authorities. It is important to remember that we are dealing with cities where confrontational relationships still predominate at the political and social levels.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 115 Another matter that comes to mind, concerning lessons learned, was the Local Committees’ working structure itself. For some of the members, meetings were “too loose” and there was no commitment from the participants’ side. Moreover, there was no reward, which would have been an advantage (professional, personal, institutional) for those who attended Committee meetings and mobilization efforts. It was brought up that, after attending the Cartagena Seminar, people became much more engaged, because they were acknowledged by ILO. “What I would do today is formalize this group, making the names of people/institutions known and clarifying what they would get in exchange (capacity building, professional members, ILO visits). I find it appropriate, if a person joins a committee, that the insitution participating should also benefit in some way. It is very idealistic to believe that AWARENESS RAISING AND people would join simply because they believe in the cause (...). They should be asked to sign a paper, committing themselves. Write on the paper the institute’s obligation.

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING If we had to start up today, we would have to be well organized, with a vision, objectives and clear action plans (Staff member of the Foz do Iguaçu Reference Center). The same person felt that, although ILO itself did not want to impose obligations, it was afraid to leave resolutions in the hands of the Committee, which would have been centralism. The Committee would then have become vulnerable because although it had political power, it had no organization. The same kind of difficulty was also found in Paraguay, as observed in this evaluation of the Project’s negative aspects, according to the staff member of a reference center: “Institutional instablility was observed in the permanent rotation of its members, specifically within the National Police in charge of investigating cases of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents”. Another problem identified was the “mixture” between the Action Programme and the Committees. For example: both had in their lines of action preparation of schools. The Committee would get the money and premises and the Action Programme would provide the professionals. But sometimes this would create problems, as it took professionals away from the Reference Centers.

116 One of the most troublesome items mentioned as far as lessons learned was time. When hearing from interviewees, one gets the impression that there was a nearly unavoidable conflict between two types of time: “ILO- time” and “local time”. The first was a rational, pragmatic time, dealing with project implementation and achieving the proposed targets on time. According to some team members from the Reference Centers, there should have been a timeframe established for consolidating the network, and for capacity building for its members, before even starting the Project: “Before starting the Project, the network should have been consolidated to avoid doing everything at the same time”. “The first thing that should have been done is a thorough study on the causes of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, the results of which would then be compiled into a report. Furthermore, it would have been important to explain what the 1st sector, the 2nd sector and the 3rd sector is. Then comes the problem of the objective to be achieved. Many of the implementers of the project agonized over this, mainly with regard to the number of boys, girls and adolescents taken care of and the number of people trained. “The time frames are very short, they need to be longer. Problems are very complex; we are talking about marginalized people. Their level of self-esteem is the lowest possible; it is a dantesque job. The mothers had similar histories. It is very difficult to break this continuous cycle and the poverty cycle”. ”ILO´s demand for “QUANTITY” is sad!”. Time and objectives were areas where a national ILO staff member made important observations on the methodology employed by this institution.

riple Border Area “The time factor is important and needs to be considered. The Reference Center is not a solution; it is one of the strategies. (…) Because you give management priority over the management’s actual objective. More flexibility in terms of time is necessary (...). This is part of the myth of Reference Centers in ILO work. Their function needs to be reconsidered; they could serve as pedagogical spaces for socialization.”

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 117 For an ILO staff member in Foz do Iguaçu, however, the existence of Reference Centers was the key to the great success of the Ciranda Campaign in Foz do Iguaçu, as the press was able to look at the human side of the problem. This would not have been the case if the Project had just concentrated on the diagnostic and criminal aspects: ”When the Ciranda Campaign started, the Reference Centers were already operating. The way of dealing with the problem was set, concentrating on the human aspect. Many mobilization efforts were realized in 2003. This flowed well because we also had direct care. In this sense, ILO´s methodology was good.” Another methodology used was Rapid Assessment - RAS, which, in the opinion of ILO staff members, should have been used differently, at the

AWARENESS RAISING AND risk of distorting the figures, with an impact on the goals to be achieved. “RAS should not be used as it is now. Its quality is almost cadastral. There is no time to describe the problem.” (ILO

staff member, Brasilia) INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING “The Rapid Assessments have ended up putting us on the wrong path (...). The method needs to be reconsidered. The qualitative research being used should not raise the wrong expectations.” (ILO staff member, Asunción) It should be noted that in the conclusions of the rapid assessment conducted in Ciudad del Este, written and coordinated by José Gaspar Britos, he talks about methodological shortcomings, whereby it is not possible to include data on migratory mobility, on the history of abortion and children, on exploiters and possible connections to formal authorities, on the clandestine production of pornographic material, on indigenous groups and CSEC users. This is mainly due to the design and structure of research manuals and questionnaires. We would like to mention here the excellent inventory work that was done in Puerto Iguaçu without using the methodological RAS framework. Using anthropological methods, Lidia Schiavonni and her team produced one of the most profound pictures of the region´s problems, without the necessity of generating numbers or statistics. This is not, in any way to belittle studies that were competently performed in Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu. Before them, no research had been done on the region´s problems. In this sense, considerable progress has been made.

118 Along similar lines, capacity building had been a breakthrough. A project collaborator in Foz do Iguaçu even concluded, once again calling attention to the inconsistency in timing, that “capacity building should have been the Project’s main guideline, followed by caring for the families and doing social prevention”. Obviously, all problems were aggravated by the fragility of existing public policies for dealing with the situation: “Another factor that aggravated the situation’s fragility was that we do not have public policies actually in place. The social contingent is huge and resources are few. (Staff member of the Foz do Iguaçu Reference Center). “There is a lack of human and financial resources from the Public Ministry to investigate and intervene in cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents” (Staff member of Ciudad del Este Reference Center). “It is a difficult topic. There are networks that are connected to drug trafficking as well as other forms of trafficking. There should be other actions, besides those of Sentinela (…). There is no network, no rear guard to help us out in this situation. A PETI scholarship is not much help”. (Member of the National Forum for the Elimination of Child Labour, Brazil). “We knew that we didn’t have much time, but no alarm bell rang, and there was no government commitment to guarantee the budget. The ILO was leaving in August, so money was requested so that could stay until December. But the administration of resources is in the hands of the Secretary for Social Action, who was not particularly sensitive to the issue and didn’t provide the money for the six remaining months. So it’s over.” (Staff member of the Foz do Iguaçu Reference Center)

riple Border Area Although the Project played an essential role for the work of advocacy with the Paraguayan national government, and had excellent results (the signing of Conventions related to minimum age and the worst forms of child labour, National Plan, etc), the same was not true for Brazil, in the opinion of a national ILO staff member. “The project was not aggressive enough before the National Confrontation Committee. It is indeed very fragile. The Project could have shed a new light. This is also true for

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 119 SEDH, since there is a PAIR58. The Project could have been more aggressive within the CONANDA and the CONAETI “ Geographical distances should not be disregarded. Look at the progress made in the State of Paraná. Today, more paths have been opened for other IPEC projects in that state. This does not go unnoticed by the same individual, who confirms: “The State of Paraná is now used as a reference in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents”. In the case of Argentina, one of the main problems observed by Local Committee members was the institutionalization of the Programme59 within the Ministry of Labour. This had made the

Committee’s organization more difficult: AWARENESS RAISING AND “The first part of the project, its development, capacity building for local players, Committee members, representatives from institutions, was phenomenal. (…) The fundamental mistake was that the Programme was attached INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING to the government, as it is part of the National Ministry of Labour, which is over 1,000 kilometers away, and completely unaware of the local situation and its peculiarities. Three committee presidents have come and gone, since they are elected by the director, according to the agreement signed. When he arrives, he does not know what to do and gets in the way of the work. Obviously the people from the Committee started to leave.” (Member of the local Puerto Iguazú Committee) The solution, in this case, would be to implement the Programme using non-governmental organizations. With the observations made by the team from Argentina, one comes back to two fundamental points for the Programme’s sustainability: the involvement of local politicians and the budget: “I believe that the greatest failure has been the lack of involvement of politicians. I don’t know the exact reason for this. It might be that the problem is not high up on the list of priorities. Also since it is not seen, it is not recognized politically. It is very important to fight for the state’s political participation in this area. We have to join forces to achieve this.”

120 Some lessons from Argentina could have been considered simple, if not for the gravity of the situation and the huge challenges to be faced in fighting the problem: “The “macho” - culture makes women suffer in silence (…). What victims need most is love, to make them feel that they are human beings, that they have the right to be happy, and that it is possible to get out of the situation they are in.” For the Argentinian Committee, who had a longer timeframe than its neighbors, there was time and freedom to increase the focus on the victimized child to include the family, and more specifically the heads of the family: “We started working on commercial sexual exploitation and sexual tourism and ended up having workshops on self- esteem and the rights of women, children and adolescents.” Perhaps the greatest lesson learned was the perception that it was possible to do something. Within the framework of their own concepts of time, space, policy and mobilization, local people and institutions were able to have a unique experience of diagnosis, planning and action. They were facing and are still facing tremendous hardships. For some, there is a lack of “political willingness”, for others a “social unwillingness”. What matters is that hundreds of people rallied around a challenge, erred and then hit the target. They talked about their mistakes and successes. They will continue to talk, breaking century-old barriers between the three countries. That is a very positive result, after less than four years of Project activities.

riple Border Area

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 121 26 Programme of direct transferral of income from the federal government to families of children and adolescents of both sexes involved in child labour. 27 Joint specialized social and multi-professional actions directed at children, adolescents and families involved with sexual violence. On-site specialized actions of child care and immediate protection are executed, such as education, specialized multi-professional care, psychological and judicial support, permanent follow-up, 24 hour shelter (if necessary) and offer of back-up support to the system of rights warranty. 28 According to art. 131 of the child statute, The Child Protection Council is a permanent and non–jurisdictional autonomous agency, which society has placed in charge of children’s rights. 29 Organization responsible for contributing with the training process of media of communication and for the adaptation and dissemination of the campaign in Brazil. 30 Available on www.ciranda.org.br 31 Situated in a house provided for the time being by Itaipu, the network was formed by 16 social entities in which employees of Itaipu are active. The RIS AWARENESS RAISING AND organizes professional training courses to managers, volunteers and employees of the attached institutions. .In addition, it provides orientation, support, consultancy, advise, training and services. Its objective is joining, strenghtening and representing non governmental instituations (NGOs) that

are looking for qualification and professionalization of the so-called Third INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING (social services) Sector. Other objectives are looking for solutions for common problems and promote the strengthening of the institutions in order to facilitate their sustainability in the long run. 32 Press division of the Municipality of Foz, 19/04/2004. 33 T.N: Implemented by the Esperanza (Hope) Foundation 34 T.N: Implemented by the Nostra Senhora Aparecida Civil Society (SCNSA) 35 The Border Committees are envisaged in MERCOSUR agreements. 36 Can be reached at http://www.trabajo.gov.ar/conaeti/ 37 Demelenne, 2003: 40. 38 Created in 2000, through a partnership‘between the government and the organized civil society, the National Plan for Confronting Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents is an instrument of defence and guarantee of the rights of children and adolescents, which pretends creating, strengthening and implementing an articulated set of actions and targets that are fundamental for ensuring integral protection to chiuldren and adolescents in a situation of risk of sexual violence. The Plan, validated by about 160 social entities and approved by the National Council of the Rights of Children and Adolescents, is divided into six strategical axes: Situation analysis; Mobilization and Articulation; Defence and responsibility; Attendance; Support and prevention, and Youth Protagonism. In order to get the now the Plan in detail, look at www.violenciasexual.org.br. 39 See information on http://www.snna.gov.py/ 40 Available on http://www.trabajo.gov.ar/conaeti/ 41 The Outpatient Clinic, inaugurated in 2000, attends thousands of users of the public health system with consultation of medical specialists. An area of 1800 square metres houses 10 consultation offices, a vaccination room, a dental cabinet, a pharmacy and support services. The attended patients are referred by general clinics that attend in the municipal health posts. The specializations offered in the clinic are: Neurological paediatrics, neurology, haematology, cardiology, otololaryngology, angelology, endocrinology, nephrology, cardio paediatrics, high risk pregnancies and psychology.

122 42 See http://www.fundacionesperanza.org.py/ 43 N.T: Word play which means “awaken”, “agree” and “give color” 44 NGO that works in prevention and orientation, provides support to and accompanies persons with AIDS / programme of damage reduction. 45 Participants concluded that the realization of joint studies by jurists from the three countries was fundamental, in order to promote the mutual and profitable comprehension of the laws and institutions in force on penal matters. Therefore, the Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Group’s familiarity with principles, norms, mechanisms and instruments of International Modern Public Law, was deemed urgent; as well as the strengthening, support and aknowledgement of the Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Group that is active at the Triple Border, as the principal law enforcement agents; and the capacity building of this Law Enforcement Officer’s Working Group as an investment for their access to decision centers. Also identified as necessary was the improvement of coordination between Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Groups to increase contacts for experience and knowledge exchange; to share experiences and to work in an organized manner, identifying strengths and weaknesses of each city, in order to create a Law Enforcement Officers Working Group Network; to identify obstacles to collaboration; to identify mechanisms and procedures for enhancing collaboration; to increase opportunities for discussing alternatives for the solution of common problems and to overcome structural weaknesses with a strong centralization that hinders decision-making at local and regional levels. 46 The document on the institutional offer in Brazil affirms that, on national level, it was only from 1996 onwards (year of promulgation of the Children’s and Adolescents Statute) that “the campaigns, fronts and support networks intensified”. In Paraguay, there was already a reference to networking, the National Network of Attention to Child Abuse (REDNAMI), little known in the region. 47 Another common use for the term was in reference to the “hotel network” or “chain”. 48 News clipping of the Municipality of Foz de Iguaçu (19 and 20/02/2002) 49 N.T: Sylvia Carvalho is a local journalist 50 In Foz do Iguaçu, big steps forward were made since the Management Plan of Institutional Development (Plano Gestor de Desenvolvimento Institucional)—2004 – 2006, financed by the OIT, with the objective of guaranteeing the sistainability and the strengthening of the activities of the local Committee. The work, conducted by RIS – Rede de Instituições Solidárias, involved training activities, aimed at strenghtening the internal structure of the Committee, amplifying its scope, and consolidating, together with the community in general, the concept of the image of the Committee as reference point in the prevention and elimination of commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the triple border area. 51 According to Vivianne Amaral, in Desafios do trabalho em rede, article of

riple Border Area 2003, available in Rits: http://www.rits.org.br/redes_teste/ rd_tmes_dez2002.cfm 52 See MARTINHO, Cássio. Redes e desenvolvimento local. Rede Brasil de Comunicação Cidadã [on-line] Available on the Internet 53 At the time of conducting these legislative studies, Argentina had not yet joined the Project. 54 No dia 18 de maio de 2002, Dia Nacional do Combate à ESCI no Brasil, ao mesmo tempo que os integrantes do Comitê Local de Foz do Iguaçu realizavam uma ato público relativo à efeméride, era lançada uma Força Tarefa, formada por órgãos federais e estaduais (Polícia Federal, Receita Federal, Polícia Rodoviária Federal, Polícia Rodoviária Estadual, Receita estadual, Polícia Militar,

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 123 Polícia Civil e Departamento de Estradas e Rodagem) para combater o contrabando, o tráfico de drogas, os crimes contra a administração pública e o tráfico de armas. No mesmo mês, era anunciada a implementação de uma “Central de Inteligência” na região oeste do Estado do Paraná, que contará com 1.014 policiais civis e militares (Policia Civil, Polícia Militar, Polícia Federal, Polícia Rodoviária Federal, Receita Federal e Receita Estadual) e atuará em 57 municípios e 150 quilômetros de fronteira, com o objetivo de “intensificar o combate à criminalidade, ao tráfico de drogas e ao contrabando em toda a região e na fronteira com Argentina e Paraguai”. Cf. A Gazeta do Iguaçu (Foz, 23/5/2002) 55 The Council therefore made a denunciation with the Public Ministry. At the beginning of December, the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents conducted a public audience in the Chamber of Aldermen, about the issue of defining procedures in the combat to commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in Foz de Iguaçu. The Public Ministry, the Judiciary Power and Security Organs were invited. 56 N.T: The Reais is the Brazilian currency. An amount of 10,000.00 reais is about US $ 3,845.00. 57

As long as this does not take place, joint police actions will start being put AWARENESS RAISING AND into practice, like in March and April, 2005, when a task force against child labour and commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents took action on both Paraguayan and Brazilian sides of the Friendship Bridge. 58 As a response to the orientations included in the National Study on Trafficking

of Women and Adolescents for the purpose of Sexual Exploitation, by initiative INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING of the State Secretariat of Social Assistance - MAS, of the State Secretariat of Human Rights –MJ, as well as the US Agency for International Development - USAID, in August 2002 the Programme “Ações Integradas e Referenciais de Enfrentamento à Violência Sexual Infanto-Juvenil no Território Brasileiro” – PAIR was elaborated. In October 2002 a Protocol was established between the three organizations that were responsible for the coordination and implementation of the activities foreseen in the programme, including initially the municipalities of Pacaraima-RR, Manaus–AM, Rio Branco–AC, Corumbá- MS; Feira de Santana-BA and Campina Grande–PB. 59 N.T.: the autor refers to the “Luz de Infancia” programme.

124 4. Awareness- Raising Strategies and Methodology

In this section, awareness-raising campaigns in Paraguay and Brazil will be analyzed. In Paraguay, the communication campaign started in October 2002. In Brazil, it started in May 2003. Besides these two campaigns, which were part of the Project, there was also the campaign of Itaipu Binacional, which started in October 2003 in Brazil and in November 2003 in Paraguay. It should be mentioned that the Paraguayan campaign’s main slogan was “The sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents is a crime…and will be paid for” and the one from the Brazilian campaign was “The Triple Border confronts the sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents”. Different ways of approaching the problem, but with the same objective. In Paraguay, the Communication campaign to disseminate and raise

riple Border Area awareness for the elimination of the sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents was developed and spread through the local, regional and national levels. The size of the country allowed the campaign to be disseminated widely. Its initial objectives were to introduce and position the topic by conducting an awareness-raising campaign for the population; to create a broader more critical vision of the problem among opinion makers; to widely disseminate IPEC’s approach and to make the eradication of sexual

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) exploitation the basic proposal. 125 Furthermore, the concern was to develop strategies and produce material for the dissemination of messages directed to a specific target group (community groups and networks, churches, youth groups, police, customs, judges and fiscal inspectors, hotels, bars, restaurants, travel agencies, tourist agencies, schools, NGOs and other governmental sectors) and to sensitize and carry out agreements with the communication sectors for the dissemination of the different campaign material, which actually happened, in some instances even for free, as it was later confirmed. The work entailed: (1) Awareness-Raising Campaign through the mass communication media at the national level, focusing on and emphasizing the border region with Brazil and visibility in public spaces;

AWARENESS RAISING AND (2) Capacity-Building for Opinion Makers (through a Communication Workshop) and the design of practical training material, to be used throughout the entire project. Both areas focused on the vulnerability of the rights of boys and girls INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING who are victims of sexual exploitation, with special reference to their family, health, education and protection. The organization in Paraguay responsible for the campaign was Comunicación Visual SRL60. The work was developed with Ciranda (News Agency for the Rights of Children and Adolescents). The campaign in Brazil had the same objective as the one in Paraguay. The difference was that in addition to the communication media, there was a great concern to raise awareness in the tourism, education, transport and police sectors as well, for the implementation of mobilization efforts and awareness-raising initiatives. This awareness raising was translated into commitments and capacity building. The project also reached opinion makers, educators and police officers of the State of Paraná, who are active mainly in Foz do Iguaçu, with capacity- building and awareness-raising seminars and guidebooks. Furthermore, the campaign in Brazil joined forces with the National Plan for the Confrontation of Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents, steering governmental and non-governmental actions and developments revolving around this topic. The communication and awareness-raising effort was focused on implementing the relevant actions and raising awareness in the different segments of society (in the areas of: education, communication, police, tourism and transport), with priority being placed on Foz do Iguaçu. 126 Some of the activities, like the training guidebooks, were inspired by the awareness-raising campaign in Paraguay. The month of October, 2002 marks the beginning of the Communication Campaign in Paraguay (Asunción and Ciudad Del Este). On May 18, 2003, the campaign against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents is launched in Brazil, in Foz do Iguaçu. On October, 9, 2003, through a direct initiative of Itaipu Binacional, the Communication Campaign in the Border Region (Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este)61 begins. The links between these campaigns and awareness raising in society, a fundamental aspect to be considered, will be demonstrated. The role the above-mentioned campaigns played in changing society’s attitudes is analyzed here, specifically with respect to the commercial sexual abuse of girls, boys and adolescents at the Triple Border. As mentioned in the reports, there are “nearly 3,500 girls, boys and adolescents living in situations of sexual exploitation at the Triple Border between Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay. A great many of those children and adolescents combine prostitution with another kind of work, mainly on the streets.” The natural objective of the campaigns was to raise awareness in society in order to prevent the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, by constructing a Protection Network against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Here, an initial aspect is worth highlighting: Society creates an antidote, or even better, a Protection Network against the existing Exploitation Network. The links between the “campaigns” and “awareness raising” in society become fully clear, both in the research material, as well as from the different interviews conducted. One of the agents participating in the design and execution of the campaign in Brazil said that‘“the need to conduct a multi-faceted campaign was based on the confirmation that it was necessary to instill a different way of thinking about the problem

riple Border Area of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents.” Where does this realization come from? It comes from the fact that, for many inhabitants around the Triple Border, ‘the problem’ of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents ‘did not exist’, or worse, that this problem ‘was not visible’. The campaign was thus born out of both a revelation and a calling, and a desire to get a commitment from all segments of society.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 127 In Paraguay62 the main idea was: “How much does a girl cost? Her rights are priceless. Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and Adolescents is a crime and it shall be paid for”. (Italics are ours). Along those lines, in the case of Brazil, the Campaign against the Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents63 is clearly a communication campaign to disseminate and raise awareness in favor of the prevention and elimination of the sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. In the part carried out in Foz do Iguaçu and in the State of Paraná, the motto of the campaign64 was: “The Triple Border confronts the Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and Adolescents”. We tend to believe that it makes no sense, given the scope of this report, to compare the two campaigns, as it is not relevant at the moment. There is thus no use trying to find an indication of progression

AWARENESS RAISING AND in different directions, such as inferior/superior, since the work has proved that both campaigns are meritorious, within their cultural and regional specificities, as already mentioned in this report.

The awareness-raising campaigns conducted in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING del Este resulted in perceptible attitude and behavioral changes in different sectors of the local society, including governmental as well as non-governmental organizations, companies, trade unions, as well as the means of communication and public opinion in general. Campaigns were directly carried out by ILO and its partners, by Itaipu Binacional and by other sectors. There are many examples of the links between campaigns and the concern of their designers and executors with the local society’s awareness raising (effective participation). Based on fundamental principles, such as the fact that the campaign should essentially educate society (not to mention offenders), it was pointed out to everybody, indiscriminately, that the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents “exists”, “is a crime” and therefore, “must be denounced”, as stated in one of the interviews. Therefore, it is more than natural that the material produced for campaigns should sound like “a calling”, for a commitment to eliminate the problem. An agent who was interviewed thus analyzed this aspect: “the campaign should show that the problem’s solution is in your hands, in the hands of the Federal Police, in the hands of the teachers, the public authorities, other police forces, and the Department of Justice”. According to her, there was some “differentiation”, i.e., the citizen is called to participate in something specific, not isolatedly, but as part of

128 a joint effort, in which all segments of society should be present. That gave it an air of feasibility. If any inhabitant of the Triple Border were asked if he/she were in favor of the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents, most probably the reply would be to that they would take a position against this evil. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned that some entrepreneurs showed reluctance at first, months before the campaign started. This was thought to be due to a decrease in economic activity, with many tourists now staying away. However, this proved to be a misunderstanding, and the hotel sector (which maintained some distance from the awareness-raising activities that were part of the campaigns) was one of the sectors that started to participate in the Protection Network. Here we have, in this unanimity, the origin of network activity. First of all it should be emphasized that there was no previous experience whatsoever with networking, as seen in the foregoing chapter. This was one of the main problems that hindered the achievement of more exponential results. But the organizers were right: this was the natural path for confronting the problem, i.e., the organization of networks in the three countries, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. The ILO/IPEC folder helps us understand the attempt to integrate actions, seeking solutions to the problem that commercial sexual exploitation is trinational. Within the framework of the Project for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and Adolescents at the Triple Border (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay)65, one was really seeking “Integral Actions in the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and Adolescents at the Triple Border (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay)”. (Italics are ours). Along similar lines, the folder of the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents is a good indicator of this awareness-raising effort. “Say NO to the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. COMMIT YOURSELF! Glue onto riple Border Area your chest the seal of adhesion to the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents!” (Italics are ours). On a plastic campaign strip that refers to the aforementioned network, the central phrase ratifies the position that awareness raising is the result of a sharing of responsibilities: “I am part of…the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents.”

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 129 Box 1 To summarize, as part of awareness raising/mobilization and institutional strengthening, the following activities were carried out: i. February to August/2003: Establishment of Local Committees66 in the 3 border cities; August, 2004: creation of a Law Enforcement Officers’ Working Group in the 3 cities. ii. Oct./2002 to August/2004: Communication Campaign in Paraguay (Asunción and Ciudad Del Este) implemented by the Project and carried out by Comunicación Visual, coordinated by Marta Gimenez and Regina Bachero; iii. March/2003 - June/2004: Communication Campaign in Brazil, implemented by the Project in partnership with Ciranda; October/ 2003 - December/ 2004: Communication Campaign in the border zone (Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad Del Este), by direct Itaipu Binacional initiative. In the two campaigns directly organized by the Project, through contracts with other organizations

AWARENESS RAISING AND (Comunicacion Visual and Ciranda) two TV spots, 8 radio micro-programmes, posters, electronic newsletters, bumper stickers, public acts, banners, newspaper ads, guidebooks for journalists, community agents, teachers, etc. were produced. The Itaipu campaign produced posters, folders, TV spots, billboard signs, advertisements in/on buses and bus stops, etc. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING iv. From 2002 to June/ 2004: over 2,000 teachers and 450 Law Enforcement Officers were trained67(judges, police officers, prosecutors, Rights Councils, Child Protection Councils, CODENIs etc.); different events held (launching of campaigns and publications, public acts (Friendship Bridge - June, 12, 2003), a public demonstration, etc. Two large seminars (Ciudad del Este, July 1st to 3rd and Foz do Iguaçu, April 9th and 10th, 2003) stand out, with the objective of communicating results, and to plan and assess actions. The events assembled governmental and non-governmental representatives from the 3 countries (from the 3 border cities, besides Brasilia, Curitiba, Asunción and Buenos Aires)68. v. The Action Programmes (projects with direct care for boys, girls and adolescents and families), funded by the Project and executed by counterparts in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este69, may be considered an area of local response and capacity building, since there was never any organization dedicated to that action in the region, before the implementation of the Project at the border. As all these programmes also included awareness-raising and mobilization components, it was somehow natural that the implementing agencies also execute different actions in awareness raising and capacity building. In this respect, the Foz do Iguaçu Mobile Unit stands out (bus equipped for art performances related to prevention in communities and schools) and awareness-raising workshops carried out in 72 hotels in Foz do Iguaçu.

130 Brazil Two important and complementary communication campaigns were conducted with the objective of raising the population’s awareness, to enable it to effectively participate and assume a position in favor of the eradication of the sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. Founded on the key notion that “the Triple Border confronts the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents”, a landmark activity in the Mobilization Campaign was its actual launching on May, 18, 2003. This is also the National Day against the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. There was no way to disconnect the campaign from the activities already in progress at the Triple Border. It may therefore be concluded that the campaign’s development (besides the creation of the network and the establishment of the committees) and the implementation of the Action Programme of Integral Care for Children and Adolescents in Situations of Commercial Sexual Exploitation happened concomitantly in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Brazil. Among other aspects, the Programme becomes tangible through the material produced during its execution, i.e., 500 monthly newsletters (distributed to all institutions that are part of the local network, governmental and non-governmental organizations, authorities, enterprises, and at the Action Programme’s official launching on March 19, 2003), as well as 30 Orientation Manuals for professionals - printed material distributed among professionals active in Reference Centers (CRI, CRII and CRIII). Technical Reports were also produced during the Action Programme’s execution, while campaigns were being developed. The objective of these documents is to provide information on the Action Programme’s progress. Between March 11, 2002 and June 10, 2004, the following material had been produced by the Action Programme, according to the Technical

riple Border Area Information on the Action Programme’s Progress: “1. 1,500 monthly newsletters 2. 1,000 stickers 3. 200 T-shirts 4. 6,000 leaflets 5. 35 street banners, donated by ITAIPU Binacional - Brazil, used on May 18th, National Day of the Fight against the Sexual Abuse and Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 131 6. 01 orientation pamphlet (matrix) for CSEC Prevention Agents 7. 20 ‘CSEC Prevention Agent Tool-Sets’ (01 identification card, 01 manual, 05 transparencies, 01 wallet)” A good example of the progress made for the sustainability of the Action Programmes (APs) and the strenghtening of the Local Network is that the company Itaipu Binacional signed a Term of Adhesion to the Protection Network for the Fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. The company also invited institutions that are part of the Local Committees of Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este, besides implementing agencies of APs, to help define the areas where Itaipu Binacional could contribute to the APs of each city. So, after two meetings, where both the progress and the problems of the Project’s implementation were presented, the following actions were defined as priorities where the AWARENESS RAISING AND company could help: “A four-year bi-national communication campaign on

topics related to sexual violence, with emphasis on abuse, INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING commercial sexual exploitation and domestic violence. The aforementioned campaign is directed at the general population, and mainly the tourism and transport sectors and adolescents. The campaign shall be launched on October 12th, which is Children’s Day in Brazil. The items produced for the campaign are videos, radio spots, folders, billboard signs, street banners, leaflets, etc. The company can also help with communication at the political level, having the sustainability of the APs as objective”. (bold-face is ours) As part of the dissemination and awareness-raising activities, the following material was initially produced: “1. 2,500 monthly newsletters 2. 200 T-shirts - donated by Itaipu 3. 03 street banners - donated by Itaipu 4. Mobile billboard sign - donated by Itaipu - on a bus that travels between Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad Del Este. 5. Two (2) paragliders with slogans against CSEC. Remark: under ‘paraglider’ a motorized parachute is understood.

132 Boxes 2, 3 and 4 - summarized below and presented again later on provide information and detailed data from three Technical Information Newsletters on the Advancement of the Action Programme,referring to the following periods: a. Box 2 - September 11, 2003 to December 10, 2003. This trimestral Information Newsletter highlighted the fact that the Denunciation Hotline service (in Reference Center I - 24-hour Sentinela) started operating with the launching70 of the campaign realized by the local network, with the support of ITAIPU Binacional. The slogan is “Campaign against the abuse and sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents”. It reaches Foz do Iguaçu/ Brazil and Ciudad del Este/Paraguay. Furthermore: • It ensures the execution of a set of actions that benefit the community through professional capacity building and training for income generation (the objective of these courses is not only to attend to AP beneficiary families, but those taken care of by other ongoing projects in Foz do Iguaçu as well); • Another important sign of progress this semester was the starting of prevention activities within the tourism-hotel sector, with the presentation of talks for students working in the tourism and hotel business; and •A vast amount of campaign material had been produced during that period (folders, posters, bookmarks, telephone books, billboard signs, panels, stickers and others).

b. Box 3 - December 1, 2003 to March 10, 2004. Even considering the fact that the Denunciation Hotline service was working effectively during the period in question, the “number of denunciations did not increase”. This led to the “decision of altering the campaign’s structure, which should seek new awareness-raising strategies for the population, with the creation of radio spots”. Another important decision was to seek a “new definition of the Denunciation Hotline system (a system of care, referral, monitoring and receiving denunciations, etc.).” Capacity building and monitoring of activities developed by street educators, with the objective of improving the approach, mainly in secluded places (nightclubs, hotels, bars, etc.). Other aspects to be considered during that time:

riple Border Area •Political discussions with members of parliament in Brasília, which facilitated the presentation of a national budget amendment, with a focus on the AP’s sustainability; •Start of preventive consultations with the tourism sector, with talks for tourism and hotel business students, business and hotel owners and employees, travel agents, and other relevant professionals; and • Same amount of dissemination and awareness-raising material produced as the previous trimester.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 133 c. Box 4 - March 11, 2004 to June 10, 2004 Indicates how far the Programme for Integral Care to Boys, Girls and Adolescents, Victims of Sexual Exploitation reaches. It says that there was: • Continuity in awareness raising through capacity building of workers in the tourism and hotel sector; informing the causes and consequences of CSEC, seeking the support of this sector in the fight and offering the certification seal for hotels (1,000 Orientation Manuals for the hotel-tourism sector produced); •Awareness raising activities in schools, through talks and training for teachers, pedagogical coordinators and students; • Launching and start of the Mobile Unit’s activities during the week of May 18th - National Day of the Fight against the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents. The schools approved the Mobile Unit and actions reached 9,050 people, among them schoolchildren, teachers and pedagogical

AWARENESS RAISING AND coordinators.

Box 2

Period covered by this early information: September, 11, 2003 to December, INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING 10, 2003. “A fact that made possible a massive dissemination of the Denunciation Hotline service, operating at the Reference Center - I - 24-hour Sentinela, was the launching of a campaign designed by the Local Network in partnership with Itaipu Binacional, with the slogan “Campaign against the abuse and sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents”, reaching Foz do Iguaçu/Brazil and Ciudad del Este/Paraguay. The campaign had been launched on October 9, on the week of Children’s Day in Brazil, and different material had been produced, such as videos, radio spots, folders, billboard signs, street banners, leaflets, etc. In Foz do Iguaçu, in partnership with Itaipu Binacional, a set of actions had been started, that benefit the community with vocational training courses for income generation. The objective of these courses is to take care not only of AP beneficiary families, but also families attended to by other projects in progress in Foz do Iguaçu, like those of the Nuestro Hogar (Our Home), Maria Porta do Céu Home, Programme for the Eradication of Child Labour (PETI), CAIA (Center for the Integral Care of Adolescents), NASA (Centre for Solidarity-Based Actions on AIDS), AFA (Alliance Fraternity Association), Little Guard, among others. At present, families and other individuals interested in the professional certification courses offered are being registered. Relative progress related to the AP’s sustainability and the strengthening of the Local Network was that Itaipu Binacional, helping with political developments with members of parliament in Brasilia, succeeded in presenting a national budget amendment, observing the sustainability of the AP. Preliminarily, this proposition

134 has been approved unanimously by the Human Rights Commission of the Federal Chamber and shall be discussed and considered in the Plenary of the Chamber for later inclusion in the National Budget. Additional progress this trimester was the start of actions in the tourism/hotel sector, with the organization of talks for tourism and hotel business students. Prevention workshops for the employees of this sector are in preparation. They will take place in Foz do Iguaçu in 2004. As to the general mobilization of society, the prevention of the tourism-and hotel sector started this semester, with awareness-raising workshops for tourism and hotel business students. It is important to point out the excellent insertion ability in schools, universities, clubs, community associations and the public authorities, which are more sensitive to the topic of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. In this framework, each of these sectors is offering support in the form of donations for AP activities.” Material produced during the period: 1. 10,000 calendars with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number. 2. 10,000 folders with explanations on the AP in Foz do Iguaçu and with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number. 3. 10,000 leaflets with messages for the tourist sector, with the best ways to register denunciations 4. 10,000 leaflets with messages for fathers, mothers, boys and girls, inviting others to join the protection network 5. 5,000 posters 6. 10,000 bookmarks, with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number, for students 7. 600 Telephone Guides for teachers and project coordinators, with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number Campaign promoted by Itaipu Binacional: 1. Billboard Signs/Posters - 20 units in Foz do Iguaçu, and 16 in neighboring cities 2. Outdoor illumination - 01 unit 3. Panel at the bus terminal in Foz do Iguaçu - 01 unit

riple Border Area 4. Panel at the international airport in Foz do Iguaçu - 01 unit 5. Bumper stickers - 5, 000 units 6. Stickers for buses - 30 units 7. Magnets for refrigerators - 5,000 units 8. Bilingual leaflet– 15,000 units 9. Posters - 2,000 units 10. Electronic Banner - 01 unit

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 135 Box 3 Period covered: December 11, 2003 to March 10, 2004 “... the launching of a Communication Campaign realized by the Local Network, in partnership with Itaipu Binacional made possible the massive dissemination of the Denunciation Hotline service. Until then, it could be observed that, even so, the number of denunciations had not increased. This resulted in the decision to change the campaign’s structure, which shall seek new awareness- raising strategies for the population, with the creation of radio spots. These reach more CSEC risk areas. Another alternative, based on the evaluation carried out during the network seminars in December 2003, is the new definition of the Denunciation Hotline system (system of care, investigation and monitoring of denunciations and the locale of their registration, etc). Along similar lines, capacity-building and monitoring by street workers developed projects, with the objective of improving the approach, mainly in

secluded places (nightclubs, hotels, bars, etc.). AWARENESS RAISING AND Relative progress made in AP sustainability and Local Network Strengthening is that Itaipu Binacional has succeeded in presentng an amendment to the Union’s budget, supported in its articulations by members of parliament in

Brasilia, to ensure sustainability for AP’s. As a preliminary measure, this INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING amendment has been approved unanimously by the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and will continue to be discussed and evaluated in Parliament Plenary for its inclusion in the national budget. Additional progress made this trimester was the start of a consulting service for the tourism sector, talks on prevention for students of tourism and the hotel business, both owners and employees, travel agents and other professionals working in this sector. This has a good effect, because consultants have been working in the hotels where denunciations and cases of CSEC are better identified. The Mobile Unit is still being prepared. Despite all this, local society mobilization activities continue. This trimester, there were talks regarding prevention for the tourism/hotel sector for tourism and hotel business students. It is important to point out the excellent insertion capacity in schools, universities, clubs, communitarian associations and public authorities; which are more sensitive to the topic of commercial sexual exploitation of boys and girls. The professional instructors acting in the cooperative work primarily on the self-esteem of the members, developing their self-confidence and contributing ideas on necessary attitudes. In the second stage the students are prepared to “build up” their own business and are therefore taught how to calculate prices for merchandise, how to form cooperatives, etc through group dynamics. Exchange with local institutions for the training of adolescents over 16, with vocational training courses and work opportunities.

136 Itaipu Binacional discusses with the Local Committee and local implementing agencies of the AP proposals for the vocational training of adolescents and families, with activities in the Parque Tecnológico de Itaipu (Itaipu Technological Park) Material produced: 1. 10,000 calendars with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number. 2. 10,000 folders with explanations on the AP Foz do Iguaçu and with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number. 3. 10,000 pamphlets with messages for the tourism sector with the best ways to denounce. 4. 10,000 pamphlets with messages for parents and boys and girls, inviting them to participate in the Protection Network. 5. 5,000 posters 6. 10,000 bookmarks with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number for students. 7. 600 telephone guides for teachers and project coordinators, with the Denunciation Hotline telephone number Campaign promoted by Itaipu Binacional: 1. Billboard signs - 20 units in Foz do Iguaçu, and 16 in neighboring towns 2. Illuminated sign - 01 unit 3. Panel at the bus terminal in Foz do Iguaçu - 01 unit 4. Panel at the international airport of Foz do Iguaçu - 01 unit 5. Bumper stickers - 5,000 units 6. Large stickers for buses - 30 units 7. Magnets for refrigerators - 5,000 units 8. Bilingual pamphlet– 15,000 units 9. Posters - 2,000 units 10. Electronic Banner– 01 unit

Box 4

riple Border Area Period covered by this information: March 11- June 10, 2004 “..shows the range of actions of the Programme for Integral Care of Boys, Girls and Adolescents who are Victims of Sexual Exploitation”. Prevention: 1. Awareness raising by the Tourism and Hotel Network has continued through employee capacity building, informing causes and consequences of CSEC, requesting the support of this sector in the fight and offering the certification seal to hotels.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 137 2. Awareness raising in schools through talks and training for teachers, coordinators and schoolchildren. With the involvement of Itaipu Binacional in AP actions and the CSEC Programme at the Triple Border, many counterparts are being trained. Immediate Objective 3 - Launching and start of activities of the Mobile Unit on May, 18 - National Day of Fight against Abuse and Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents. Primary Schools approved the Mobile Unit and actions reached 9,500 schoolchildren, teachers and coordinators. Instability of members of the Cooperative after the completion of consulting services. Widely discussed topic by the AP Steering Committee, which created a support committee for Cooperative members. The committee offers practical orientation and is looking for counterparts of entities to continue the activities of the Cooperative.”

Material produced during the period: AWARENESS RAISING AND 1,000 orientation manuals for the tourism and hotel sector. Evaluating the communication campaign of the Network against Comercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents on the Triple Border, conducted in December, 2003, Ciranda‘s Vânia Welte and Lílian INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Romão recalled that campaign objectives entailed building a protection network against the exploitation network, as they had concluded that only a joint effort that includes different segments of society would hinder commercial sexual exploitation. What they intended to show in this campaign was that the network results in citizens who denounce, in a police force that apprehends, in courts that punish, thereby succeeding in implementing public care policies in society and in government as a whole.

One of the milestones of the campaign was the following poster, which had as an addendum the following appeal: “Commit yourself! Call and denounce!” with the phone numbers of the Denunciation Hotlines of Foz do Iguaçu and Curitiba. It resulted in a significant increase in the number of approaches and social concern with the topic on different occasions at the Triple Border. The number of relevant radio and television programmes also increased considerably. “Never was the topic talked about as much as now” said

138 journalists, “politicians, entrepreneurs, etc., were all talking about it”. The ILO and Ciranda opened spaces for the distribution of material and interviews, and the public audience held by the Mixed Parliamentary Investigation Committee contributed to giving greater responsibility to different players. Consequently, denunciations increased. Society itself started to control and set up other CPIs, this time municipal ones. The importance of networking is emphasized in the campaign logo, which is widely publicized in the region. Attention was also drawn to the campaign’s extremely important results, including Labour Department actions carried out by Public Prosecutor Margarete Matos, demanding that the hotel, transportation, tourism and communication media sectors show both responsibility and commitment; the backing of Itaipu Binacional; the creation of a specialized team to deal with the topic within the Department of Labour; awareness raising about the problem and the actions of each of the players. At the same evaluation seminar, Heloisa Covolan from Itaipu Binacional spoke of the campaign against the commercial sexual abuse of boys, girls and adolescents at the Triple Border, which was sponsored by the institution. Itaipu was executing the campaign to alert the population as to the problem of CSEC, but also about the problem of sexual abuse, encouraging denunciation and to seek help. The campaign included videos broadcast on television networks and radio spots in Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and the municipalities bordering the Itaipu Hydro-Electric power plant. Billboard signs, stickers on the rear windows of buses, bilingual pamphlets and posters, bumper stickers, magnets and other material were used. Parties were thrown for boys, girls and adolescents in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad riple Border Area del Este, specifically to disseminate the campaign. In the picture below, the campaign logo is shown at the party in Brazil.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 139 The launching of the Itaipu campaign in Brazil was very significant in the fight against CSEC in the region. The participation of a company the size of Itaipu was in itself already a turning point. The local power (political and economic) of Itaipu Binacional was indisputable, and the campaign became involved with social responsibility concerns, which was also demonstrated by the enterprise. Moreover, Brazilian, Paraguayan and Argentinian members of parliament participated in the launching of the campaign. On this occasion, terms of conduct adjustment for hotels were signed with the Public Labour Department, State Justice Department and Regional Labour Delegacy. Other Awareness-Raising Activities for Local Society Another important way to raise awareness in local society with regard to the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and

AWARENESS RAISING AND adolescents was through activities directed at work with the family, in other words, not simply restricted to caring for sexually exploited boys, girls or adolescents, but for their families as well.

Within the framework of the Programme for the Integral Care of Children INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING and Adolescents in Situations of Commercial Exploitation, implemented by the SCNSA - Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida in Foz do Iguaçu, attention was paid to health, education, vocational qualification, legal support, psycho-social care and the strengthening of families through capacity building for the development of productive micro- enterprises. The strategy adopted in the Programme of Integral Care was to communicate available services within the network, thus strengthening already-existing structures. Within the community framework, the Programme for Integral Care contributed so that the topic of CSEC could be extensively discussed in different social segments and approached more openly, with exposure in local, state and national media. This was the result of a range of activities carried out by the Programme’s technical team, the Local Committee and partnerships with Ciranda - The News Agency for the Rights of Children and Adolescents in Paraná, with Itaipu Binacional, and partnerships that made capacity building possible for teachers, police officers, hotel sector employees, and journalists. There were also: communication campaigns, dissemination of information, the production of videos and spots, manuals, and above all, the socialization of results obtained directly through the networking model (CRI, CRII and CRIII) within the perspective of the doctrine on Integral Protection as proclaimed in the ECA and in other international legal documents that Brazil signed.

140 It might be inferred that other Programme actions (not only those linked to campaigns) play a specific role in raising awareness in local society as to the importance of participating in the fight against commercial exploitation and sexual abuse of boys, girls and adolescents. Finally, we can confirm that there is an increasing conviction that the community, which is now united and aware, can change the course of a city’s history, moving it towards full citizenship, without the commercial sexual exploitation of its children and adolescents, and independent of gender, class, origin or even religious or political beliefs. Paraguay The National Campaign for Awareness Raising against CSEC in Paraguay, as its name states, was “national” and “raised awareness”. Research shows that it was very dynamic and included activities at the national, regional and local levels. Numerous actions were carried out in Paraguay, and material was produced within the context of the campaign, using a concept that goes beyond the country’s borders and reaches the adjoining partner countries, Brazil and Argentina, in the fight for a Triple Border free of sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. The participation of the Club Olimpia soccer team is a demonstration of how sports can participate in awareness raising. The players of Club Olimpia, champions of Libertadores de America 2002, symbolically joined the campaign for a better present and future for boys, girls and adolescents, when they entered the field, carrying a banner with the campaign slogan: “The Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and Adolescents is a crime….and it shall be paid for.” Another extremely important activity with regard to awareness raising was the small image of the saint distributed at the festival of the Virgencita de Caacupé, the patron saint of Paraguay. After contacts and discussions with the members of the catholic Pastorals, it was decided that youths in

riple Border Area campaign T-shirts would distribute the images of the Virgin with a prayer for the victims of commercial sexual exploitation on its back.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 141 Prayer for sexually exploited boys, girls and adolescents Little Virgen of Caacupé, We ask you to protect boys, girls and adolescents Because I cannot smile I want you to teach me to be happy Because I cannot read or write I want you to teach me to live Because they make me cry I want you to help me dream Because I never have peace I want you to help me pray Because disease does not let me sing I want you to teach me to love

Because abuse does not end AWARENESS RAISING AND I ask you to intercede for me Because I have no strength to get out of here I want you to help me trust myself Because YOU are my light and my guide

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING In my nights of agony Archdiocese of the Most Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary

In October 2002, in Ciudad del Este, as part of an awareness-raising strategy, a workshop was held on “The Role of the Communicator in Tackling the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents”, promoted by the Journalists’ Trade Union, Alto Paraná Section. With regard to the media, as we saw in the Project’s chronology, at the end of 2002, the communication team of Paraguay visited the main newspapers of Asunción on several occasions, delivering explanatory material on the Project and requesting that the campaign be disseminated. Several visits were also paid to the directors of communication companies for publishing the material. In November and December radio micro- programmes and TV spots were broadcast for free. During the same period, communication campaign coordinators participated in nine FM and AM radio programmes and six TV programmes. The communication campaign in Asunción ended in March 2003. In January 2003, the Paraguayan communication team began its work in Ciudad del Este before the local press, with the broadcast of radio micro-programmes and publishing of classified ads for awareness-raising. It also met with the Municipal Director about the placement of campaign material in the streets and on city buses. Specifically with regard to

142 buses, a meeting was held with the Association of Passenger Transport Enterprises in Ciudad del Este (ASETRAPACE). In February, the team offered a breakfast to the Alto Paraná newspapers (Ciudad del Este, Presidente Franco and Hernandarias). The communication campaign in Ciudad del Este was also completed in March 2003. The four radio micro-programmes broadcast on fourteen national radio stations present the daily routine of unprotected boys, girls and adolescents with no access to education and health care, without a family to appeal to. The TV spot broadcast on four national channels and two cable channels shows a street girl selling chewing gum. She offers the product to a driver, who, with dubious intentions, offers her more money. The scene ends with the message: How much does a girl cost? Her rights are priceless. A great media coup was a group of 20 classified ads that appeared in the major newspapers in the section “Therapeutic and Special Massages”, advertising the services of boys, girls and adolescents as they typically do. The communication team’s objective was to raise awareness among the consumers of such services as to the seriousness of the problem and that the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a crime paid for in a court of law. Below are some of the unsettling ads with a direct message, but enormously creative: 1. Classified Ads - type 1 “TO FORGET STRESS: Finest massages performed by a group of girls and boys who offer you total relaxation for your aching body… Your relaxation causes us great suffering in our childhood.The sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents is a crime ...and it shall be paid for. ILO/IPEC campaign, backed by this newspaper”. 2. Classified Ads - type 2 riple Border Area “THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE. A fine way to relax, to forget daily fatigue, done by Susi, Tamara or Camila.Three unprotected girls who have no rights to education or health care. Don´t be an accomplice. The sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents is a crime ...and shall be paid for. ILO/IPEC campaign, backed by this newspaper. Another important demonstration that the awareness-raising process is working can be attested through spontaneous public

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 143 manifestations, especially those revealed through the press. The following text is a good example: ”Poverty, social exclusion, violence and corruption are part of our Guarany land. A land where thousand of innocents do not know their essential rights. Boys, girls and adolescents with no dignified present and future shall be the focus of our efforts, making it our life’s work not to keep tragically silent about this crime against our childhood and youth.” [Diario Popular - Ciudad del Este - (the boldface is ours)]. This does not mean that there were no tensions, be it with newspapers that eventually questioned the Project´s efficiency, or even due to the displayed billboard signs, or the systematic destruction of public

AWARENESS RAISING AND campaign material by people linked to exploitation networks. The production of campaign material was undoubtedly one of the main tools used in the awareness-raising process for local society in general, but also for specific segments: drivers, employees of the hotel-tourism INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING sector, teachers, journalists, etc. A good summary of the Paraguayan campaign71 is found in Box 5.

Box 5 Club Olimpia Support 1. Club Olimpia gives initial kick-off Letters 1. Letters to journalists 2. Invitations to workshops Pamphlets for Insertion 1. General information insertion pamphlet 2. Club Olimpia supports campaign against sexual exploitation Dissemination Material 1. Classified Ads - Type 1 2. Classified Ads - Type 2 3. Radio Micro-programmes Little Virgin of Caacupé 1. Activities in Caacupé 2. Prayer for sexually exploited children and adolescents 3. Letter to Monsignore Claudio Giménez, Bishop of Caacupé

144 Workshop in Ciudad del Este 1. Summary of Ciudad del Este Programme 2. Diagnosis of coverage of CSEC in the region 3. Workshop: The role of the Communicator in Tackling the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents 4. Workshop Programme Joint Workshop CSEC - TID in Asunción 1. Unification of TID and CSEC Workshops 2. Workshop on Domestic Child Labour 3. Participants from the Workshop on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 4. Workshop on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents 5. Participants from the Workshop on the Worst Forms of Child Labour - Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents 6. Information on Conclusions on CSEC Workshop 7. Workshop Photos Dissemination and Broadcast 1. Three stages of media visits 2. CSEC Communication Campaign: «For a journalist friend of boys, girls and adolescents» 3. TV and radio spots and dissemination of classified ads 4. Information on the Dissemination of the Ciudad del Este Campaign 5. Aproximate value of media dissemination Working Breakfast with Ciudad del Este Media 1. Working breakfast with Media of Alto Paraná 2. Media invited to working breakfast 3. Meeting with press - Note 4. Information Insert Public Street-and-Road Presence of the Campaign 1. Public Street- and-Road focus in Ciudad del Este

riple Border Area 2. Support from transport sector in Ciudad del Este 3. Meeting with the Municipal Director Development of material design and capacity building Due to a lack of knowledge72 on the problem of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, the material disseminated also had to be informative, like the following in an information brochure:

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 145 “Here they are. Hidden and marginalized. Forgotten and abandoned. Thousands of Argentinian, Brazilian and Paraguayan Children and Adolescents are victims of crime. The commercial exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents in the Triple Border region connecting the cities of Puerto Iguazú, Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este is a harsh reality and consequence of weakness in social policies, poverty, impunity and corruption.” One of the most successful capacity-building experiences in Paraguay was the one performed with teachers. The teachers’ participation was essential, once they became agents of prevention and early identification in cases of sexual violence, and especially in cases of sexual abuse against boys, girls and adolescents. Furthermore, teachers participated actively in the successful mobilization effort on the Friendship Bridge in June 2003. AWARENESS RAISING AND Evaluating the December 2003 campaign, Marta Giménez recalled that the initial objectives included launching the topic, since it was formerly

called “child prostitution” and not “exploitation”. Campaign objectives were INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING also: to clarify concepts and get opinion makers to assume a critical position on the issue and disseminate the topic of the elimination and prevention of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. With the vulnerability of boys, girls and adolescents´s rights being the principal focus, the campaign tried to stress the importance of maintaining family bonds, health and education, and of child and adolescent rights protection. In terms of results, Giménez evaluated that the key to the problem was the media. The participation of the Olimpia soccer club stood out, having made a major impact due to the magnitude of the event and its great exposure in the press. Other campaign highlights were the little image of the Virgen de Caacupé, distributed on December, 8, with a prayer for the protection of sexually exploited boys, girls and adolescents, the appearance of classified ads in newspapers, the TV spot and the four micro-radio programmes in Spanish and Guarany. It should be emphasized that all dissemination was free, as a result of the media’s assumed commitment. If ILO had had to pay for publishing all this material, it would have cost the equivalent of US$180,500.00. Again with regard to the communication campaign, it was stressed in the evaluation that publicity was done on public roads and streets, and with popular material.

146 In the campaign funded by Itaipu, new materials were also developed. In Ciudad del Este, the company contracted the services of Marta Gimenez (Comunication Visual) and those of the Esperanza Foundation. The latter produced 200 posters, 1,000 pamphlets, 10 billboard signs, 5,000 stickers and 2,000 T-shirts. All of the material was paid for by Itaipu and bore the campaign logo of the network against the abuse and sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents of Alto Paraná, and of ILO. Comunicación Visual produced 12,000 pieces of support material for the prevention of CSEC; there were radio and TV spots and the creation of a Denunciation Hotline (0983-688-888), with the donation of 10 mobile phones. This represented a contribution of 135 million guaranís73 for the Project in Paraguay.

Argentina First of all, it must be pointed out once again that Argentina joined the Project late, in the middle of 2002. The Local Committee of Puerto Iguazú, as we have seen, along with the Local Committees of Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este, is conducting an awareness-raising campaign regarding the problem of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. In Argentina, the focus was awareness raising through workshops and capacity building. Dissemination material produced in Paraguay was often used in Puerto Iguazú, especially posters and additional printed material. The placement of posters had a great impact on the city, motivating several denunciations. Posters were also distributed to female heads of families who had a work plan and are paid by the national government. These women were a great help, because a programme called “Building Confidence” was implemented with them, the relevant topics being: confidence, personality and personal strengthening; and children and adolescents riple Border Area and their rights. For the Local Committee it was very important for everybody to participate in the meeting of 12,000 boys, girls and adolescents, on June 12th , on the Friendship Bridge, to say “NO” to child labour. Faced with a social situation of problem denial, the Local Committee‘s challenge was to expose the topic and, more than that, to state that physical and sexual abuse must be considered as important as nutrition, education, health and security. Saying that security and self-esteem

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 147 are fundamental elements for preventing sexual abuse, they invested in educational activities with families and schools.

Following meetings with school principals it was decided that the topic

AWARENESS RAISING AND should be dealt with in special classes with an exhibition of drawings by boys, girls and adolescents. Also arranged were radiophonic conversations every Saturday afternoon in a one-hour programme lead

by Committee members who represented the INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Grupo Sorotimista, but developed by boys, girls and adolescents from several schools. In the picture below, the June 12th Commemoration, with Puerto Iguazú schools.

Another important moment, in terms of awareness raising, was the workshops with journalists. It was observed at all meetings, before, during and after the “Journalists’ Workshops” that journalists were reluctant to denounce cases of exploitation and sexual abuse against girls, boys and adolescents, fearing retaliation by powerful local individuals. Even so, research results show that the work progressed well despite this.

148 4.1. Local and National Impact The campaigns had different impacts depending on the country. In the case of the Ciranda and Itaipu Campaigns in Brazil, despite their strong local impact and the fact that they practically cover all of Paraná State, they had hardly any national repercussions. It was different in Paraguay, where the ILO communication campaign broadcast from Asunción had national and local coverage. It had even established itself in the area in a relatively short period of time. In Argentina, where there was no specific campaign, the work done in Puerto Iguazú has great potential to be replicated in the rest of the country, judging from the Luz de Infancia pilot programme.

4.2. Model of Good Practice in Argentina As we have seen, the awareness-raising efforts in Argentina were centered on capacity building and workshops. There were some very good initiatives, like the “Creating Confidence” Project and the weekly radio programme. But, what seemingly had a major impact on the awareness-raising and self-esteem-building process of the Puerto Iguazú Local Committee was the mobilization on the Friendship Bridge. For the Local Committee members from Puerto Iguazú, to organize schools and march with boys, girls and adolescents over the bridge, and meeting the organized boys, girls and adolescents from Brazil and Paraguay, each group carrying banners, flags and balloons with their country’s colors, was an unprecedented experience of institutional strengthening. In fact, the emotion felt by each adult and child is deeply felt by everyone watching the images of the event. Radio anchors speaking in Portuguese and Spanish were announcing the arrival of the national parties, informing the population of the event. Two paragliders flew through the sky with the words “Borders without sexual exploitation” (in Spanish and Portuguese). The national anthems

riple Border Area of the three countries were being played. The moment with the greatest emotional effect was the meeting of the three National Banners, followed by the release of balloons with the colors of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, to the sounds of “Amigos para Sempre”, (Friends Forever), sung by Sarah Brightman & José Carreras. The Friendship Bridge had never before experienced a moment of civil gathering of this magnitude, uniting the civil society from the three countries.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 149 The words of Puerto Iguazú Local Committee members express clearly how much the mobilization involved the city: “We came in 10 buses, with teachers and 500 schoolchildren from all the schools. The children and adolescents had worked on the topic at school the week before. They brought posters and drawings. Argentinian radio stations broadcast live so that parents could hear why their children and adolescents were there”. For the children and adolescents, the conviviality was exemplary: “Our children and adolescents brought balloons without gas, while the Brazilian and Paraguayan children and adolescents brought balloons with gas. When the moment

came to release the balloons, ours did not rise …. The AWARENESS RAISING AND Brazilian children and adolescents took their balloons back, wrapped them together Argentinian balloons and let them go. It was beautiful (…). Children and adolescents held

hands and sang “Amigos para sempre” in Spanish and INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Portuguese. When they opened their hands, the balloons started rising …” In fact, the mobilization on the Friendship Bridge could be considered a good practice for any of the three countries, in terms of institutional strengthening as well as awareness raising. This is because the Friendship Bridge is hugely symbolic locally. The Brazilian and Paraguayan governments had signed an agreement in 1956 for the construction of the bridge. A Special Commission for its construction was then formed, under the direction of the engineer Almyr França. On March 27, 1965, the bridge was inaugurated by presidents Castelo Branco of Brazil and Alfred Stroessner of Paraguay, when both countries were under military dictatorships. The International Friendship Bridge74 has an extension of 552.40 meters and a span of 303 meters. It is the largest concrete bridge in the world, at 13.50 meters wide and 78 meters high. Situated at the end of route BR 277, the bridge allows direct road access to Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. Furthermore, it was a decisive factor in attracting investments and businesses between both countries. It allowed the development of an intensive export business in Foz do Iguaçu and the foundation of Puerto Stroessner, today Ciudad del Este, the second largest urban center in Paraguay.

150 In its 40-year history, the Friendship Bridge served as stage for the most important events in the region. Military transport, trucks carrying workers and equipment for the construction of Itaipu, thousands of Brazilians who went to live in Paraguay (the so-called ‘Braziguayos’), truckloads and truckloads of soy and other agricultural products that Paraguay exports through the port of Pananaguá, thousands of underemployed “sacoleiros” (bag carriers) looking for products in the free-trade zone of Ciudad del Este, as an alternative to subsistence, have all crossed it. For the poor population of both cities, the bridge is a point of attraction, a possibility of making some money, legally or illegally. There are some tensions, and police and fiscal control conflicts. It is the scene of great public protests and demonstrations, and has been blocked several times by demonstrators during the course of its history. There are several reports from people interviewed about the Bridge´s symbolism. When occupying it, Local Committee members could turn this scenario into a positive meaning and transform it into a site of defense of civil and human rights: “The occupation of the bridge made quite an impact! It was like a seal saying: here we are and we’ll never leave!” (Ciudad del Este Local Committee member) “The mobilization for blocking the bridge was a news event with repercussions throughout the media in the Triple Border area”. (Puerto Iguazú Local Committee member) “It was the moment to go out. The three committees met on the bridge for the June 12th mobilization. It was a very meaningful moment, because the Friendship Bridge is a symbol (transit for commerce, health care, stage for manifestations). There was reluctance in taking children

riple Border Area and adolescents to the bridge, we thought people wouldn’t like it, etc. But the local committees got together, and the police, being on their side, helped”. (ILO staff member in Foz do Iguaçu) “The three cities had a great mobilization effort at that moment. The bridge is always seen from a negative point of view”. (Foz do Iguaçu Local Committee member)

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The event was widely covered by INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING the press from the three countries. During the preceding week, the local press had already announced that the ILO was organizing a manifestation on the Friendship Bridge with the objective of gathering adolescents, youths, professionals, governmental and non-governmental organizations, authorities and representatives of the three countries, in a movement called “For a Triple Border Free of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents”. In fact, 1.5 thousand people were expected. Publicized by the media as an “act of reflection”, “paralization”, “mobilization” or “action”, the event gave visibility to the Local Committees of the three countries, as important political players to be respected. On June 12, at night, the “FolhaOnline” announced, that “demonstrators blocked the Friendship Bridge for 45 minutes“. The article states that: “The protest sought to raise awareness among the population against the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the Triple Border Region. During the event, representatives from the municipalities of Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil), Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) and Puerto de Iguazu (Argentina) signed a document committing themselves to work for the Fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. The obstruction caused a traffic jam 2 kilometers long on the Brazilian and 152 Paraguayan sides of the bridge. An ILO survey in the three counties revealed that 3,500 boys, girls and adolescents had been sexually exploited in the region in the last year. Brazilian girls are prostituted in Paraguayan and Argentinian municipalities. Foz do Iguaçu receives Paraguayan and Argentinian girls for prostitution. According to Sueli Ruiz, ILO representative in Foz do Iguaçu, a project for the Protection of Children and Adolescents at the Triple Border was developed last year, but the greatest difficulty is the punishment of perpetrators and those who sexually use these children and adolescents”. There were also further reports the following day: “Over 2,000 children and adolescents from the Three Borders demonstrated yesterday” (“La Nación - Paraguay) “ILO Manifestation blocks bridge in Foz” (Gazeta do Paraná) “Protest gathers thousands at Friendship Bridge” and “Manifestation blocks Friendship Bridge” (Jornal Hoje) “Action gathers 1.5 thousand against child exploitation.” (A Gazeta de Iguaçu) “Demonstrators close down bridge to demonstrate against child labour in Foz” and “Border alerts against child labour “ (Folha de Londrina) “Demonstration paralyzes Friendship Bridge“ and “Protest demands end of child labour” (O Paraná) “Protest against child labour gathers 1,510 children and adolescents in Foz” (Gazeta do Povo) “Protest - Argentinian, Brazilian and Paraguayan children and adolescents block Friendship Bridge in a manifestation against the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the Triple Border

riple Border Area Region” (Folha de São Paulo) Reports highlighted the signing of Terms of Commitment by the mayors of Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazú. The terms were as follows: “I want my city free of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. I will therefore: adopt immediate and effective measures to guarantee the prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labour

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 153 urgently, as defined in the ILO Convention nr. 182/1999, ratified in 2000 by Brazil; develop and implement together with Child Rights Councils, the Municipal Plan for Confronting the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (with goals, objectives, time frames and definition of responsible people and partners) together with organized civil society, observing policies of national plans; to create and consolidate by means of adequate substructure the Child Protection Councils;· permanently diffuse notification services using all means of communication in locations with great circulation, such as schools, hospitals, health care centers, police stations, etc.; accelerate and facilitate the control of business and leisure

enterprises where suspicions of commercial sexual AWARENESS RAISING AND exploitation of children and adolescents exist; develop and disseminate an annual financial statement of implemented actions and results obtained in the fight against sexual abuse and exploitation. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING I, ...... ,. Mayor of the City of...... , as representative of my City, I commit myself to achieve the above and to disseminate the campaign to the whole population. We have repeatedly registered in this paper that the cities involved in the Project are characterized by face-to-face political and social relations, which tend to be superimposed over national and international developments. In this sense, the presence of different mayors at the Friendship Bridge mobilization event was extremely meaningful for the Local Committee members who perceived in this gesture the recognition of the work done thus far. The bridge remains, however, a great challenge for the Local Committees, as synthesized by a Reference Center member from Foz do Iguaçu: ‘A third difficult factor was the matter of free circulation on the bridge, since it is a center of resources. Our income- generating proposal was for the long-term and the family needs money today. So it prefers the bridge....” Journalist Vânia Welte of the Ciranda team has the same opinion and reinforces the former: ”People get used to the bridge. They find it normal. They don´t see it as a menace. Children and adolescents of 154 workers, of the poorest, study and work, but are also “mules”75 on the bridge. It’s a dubious thing, justified by unemployment. But smuggling involves drugs too, and weapons. And authorities are more concerned with merchandise trafficking than human beings. Nobody sees that.”

4.3. Model of Good Practice in Brazil The Ciranda Campaign was undoubtedly the greatest example of good practice in terms of awareness raising in Brazil. Countless reports acknowledge this: “The idea of inviting different sectors for the topic, to call society to join the Fight Network, was very good. Things were happening in Foz do Iguaçu and in Curitiba. The press of Paraná took up the topic, as did the TVstations, focusing on the human aspect. A break was made from what was said before, which was no more than denunciation.” (ILO staff member in Foz do Iguaçu). “The great difference of the work in Foz was to insert the topic in the media, in schools, in universities.” (Reference Center team member in Foz do Iguaçu). Launched on May 18, 2003, the Ciranda Campaign was in fact the campaign of the Network for the Fight against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. The launching had representatives from civil society and government organizations, including the State Governor. On this occasion, thanks to the initiative of the Labour Department, the hotel sector signed the Term of Adhesion to the campaign. The next day, a support mobilization started on behalf of the Protection Network going through the streets in Foz do Iguaçu, with 500 people participating. The adhesion of Itaipu Binacional to the campaign was

riple Border Area fundamental for the Project’s sustainability. In July, the company met with about 30 entities and Brazilian and Paraguayan institutions already active in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. The objective was to map out ongoing actions and list the main difficulties and problems. The same month, the Foz do Iguaçu Child Protection Council announced that, after the campaign was launched, denunciations regarding the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents increased 400%.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 155 The Ciranda Campaign developed into yet another campaign, this time headed by Itaipu. Launched on October 9, 2003, the Campaign to Combat the Commercial Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents this time directed at Foz do Iguaçu, Ciudad del Este and Puerto Iguazú. Its launching was an important political and media move and benefited from the presence of members of parliament of the CPMI on sexual exploitation, as well as Argentinian and Paraguayan politicians. On this occasion, hotel owners signed terms of adhesion to the network and Itaipu signed agreements with Senac, SENAI and the Institute of Technology and Information and IT for the capacity building of adolescents removed from the streets, and their families. Another agreement was signed with ILO for awareness-raising workshops for health agents, tourism professionals (travel agents, guides, taxi drivers and motorcycle taxis). AWARENESS RAISING AND Within the campaign framework, Itaipu threw a party for 10,000 boys, girls and adolescents on October 12 in Foz do Iguaçu.

“The new Itaipu campaign in Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Este had radio and TV spots. The little girl made a lasting impression; to this day there are posters and billboards with her image. It impressed people.” (ILO staff member in Foz do Iguaçu) A year after the Ciranda Campaign launching, 30 hotels that had already trained their personnel received their “Tourism Seal” plaque, to be displayed in their establishments; 300 municipal guards received the Seal of Dinstinction, because they had been trained to correctly assist tourists and victims of that type of crime; and 1,200 Guidebooks for Journalists were handed out by Ciranda to journalists and students of journalism in workshops, in news rooms and to college students of the UDC/Foz do Iguaçu. Itaipu Binacional and the Special Secretariat for Human Rights signed an agreement in Brasília on technical cooperation for the implementation and execution of the Programme for the Fight against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Triple Border. In November 2004, Terms of Commitment were signed by motel owners and Presidents of the Taxi Driver Cooperative and Trade Union in Foz do Iguaçu. The Acordar Project was the most successful result of this campaign, showing that the network had finally taken its first steps, although still assisted by the ILO.

156 4.4. Model of Good Practice in Paraguay The success and quality of the communication campaign in Paraguay notwithstanding, what seems to have impressed informants most was the work with teachers in Ciudad del Este. The objective of the capacity building effort was to study the problem of the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents, starting with basic concepts, to debate its manifestations and consequences, to reflect on the teacher´s role, and to formulate an action plan for each school. One of the capacity-building success factors was the fact that ILO counted on the teachers for its realization, as an ILO staff member in Ciudad del Este explains: “I talked to five supervisors in the area of education. I provided the content and they provided the facilitation. They assumed the project with a great deal of propriety. The harvest was enormous! So effective! We used the structure of the Department: Supervisors/ School Principals/ Pedagogical Directors. Each one of these trained his/her teachers. Afterwards, the teachers introduced the topic as a crosscutting element to work with in classes. Some also worked on the topic in the schools for parents.” The Education Department envisages, as part of the Crosscutting Curriculum, “Gender”, “Human Rights” and “Peace and Democracy”. The topic of CSEC was also used, with very good results: “Teachers often do not have access to necessary information, also for these crosscutting issues. Schools have no resources, and no libraries. When material is delivered, the topic can enter into the three crosscutting issues mentioned, which is very good!” A report from the Departmental Supervision Coordinator confirms this

riple Border Area information: “There was a teachers’ retreat and the “Breaking the Silence” Project was prepared in class. That meant assessing the problem through the schoolchildren and teachers’ work. The most important thing was that the teachers, after making a decision in the same direction as the Ministry of Education at national level took CSEC as its thematic crosscutting issue.”

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 157 Capacity-building contents were the presentation of the CSEC problem, within the worst forms of child labour, and the basic concepts that involved CSEC and denunciation routing. At the capacity-building workshops, 1,208 teachers participated, with 881 (72%) women and 327, men (28%), from 88 schools. Most of the teachers were primary school teachers. Over 80% have degrees in teaching and psychology or are working on them. The teachers work with different grades and many teach in two shifts. The 88 schools that participated in capacity building were elementary schools, from the educational regions 1, 2 and 3. These regions are composed of five zones, and are managed by five pedagogical coordinators and support technicians. The schools go up to the 9th grade, are on the verge of educational reform and have two or three class

AWARENESS RAISING AND shifts. These schools are socially and culturally heterogeneous, with their children and adolescents being mostly between 6-7 and 15-17 years of age.

According to another teacher’s report, the Pedagogical Coordinator of INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING Ciudad del Este, at the beginning there was some resistance from the teachers, still in awareness raising: ”Destroying fear is a bit like destroying a myth. In this workshop teachers would say that they feared denouncing because of retaliations. Now they are taking the initiative of contacting institutions responsible for the topic. Directors at meetings with parents speak of the problem and posters are up in all the schools in Ciudad del Este.” Children and adolescents reacted very favorably to the teachers’ work. This can be seen from their drawings (see Annex 2), also done in the context of awareness raising, which show that channels for denunciation and protection do exist. “The children and adolescents do projects and organize exhibitions. When you come and speak, they know about the topic and know who to denounce. Fear is being conquered”. Also in Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Igazú, as we saw, teacher capacity- building was fundamental for the Project´s success and for the fight against CSEC. The great difference in Ciudad del Este, however, was the action plans. Those working in the education sector who participated

158 in capacity building developed different action plans. Among them the following stand out: 1. Awareness-raising workshops on the problem of CSEC for the greatest possible number of teachers in the area, starting in February, to favor the inclusion of the topic as a crosscutting issue during the course of the school year. 2. The creation of communication channels between teachers and authorities responsible for dealing with the problem, especially the CODENIs, Minor Courts, Fiscal Inspection, CEAPRA, and Local Committees, among others. 3. Promotion of the awareness-raising and dissemination campaign on CSEC in communities where the schools are located. 4. The support to the reinsertion into schools of boys, girls and adolescents in a situation of CSEC, providing emotional and psychological care. The Teacher’s Guide, written by Isa Ferreira, Regina Bachero and Oscar Lopez, was used in capacity-building sessions. It is a booklet that offers basic concepts on CSEC, including topics such as shared responsibility in the protection of boys, girls and adolescents. It gives some tips on identifying sexual exploitation and its denunciation. For each topic it includes an activity guide for teachers and students. The Paraguayan Ministry of Education and Culture, through the Supervision Department of Alto Paraná, backed the entire process of developing action plans in schools. The Supervision of

riple Border Area the Planning Workshop organized already incorporated the plans and created a capacity-building mechanism for teachers, with information and monitoring by the respective schools. The success in capacity building achieved by the teachers in Alto Paraná can be observed in the following declaration, made by a pedagogical coordinator of Minga Guazú: “The teacher is a detector of an abusive situation. This is a topic whose importance is increasing in isolated schools. It

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 159 is also a topic that one fears to speak of, and is still not that openly discussed. The workshop is just the beginning, to help us have the courage to denounce.” For a member of the Supervision Department, there is some awareness already in institutions, including in the Teacher Training Institute, where the topic is already an integral part of the Programme. For an ILO staff member in Ciudad del Este, the multiplying effect of teacher capacity building, using their own capacity-building structure, was excellent and showed that the educational system, once supported and stimulated, is of superior quality. “Now, for any topic that arises, they are more open, even ideologically, to topics related to human and social issues.”

4.5. Lessons Learned AWARENESS RAISING AND Not many references were made to “lessons learned” in awareness raising. In terms of the campaigns per se, some of those who participated in Paraguay felt that the campaign was very short and affected Asunción INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING more than Ciudad del Este. The three countries agreed on the importance of capacity-building actions. In Paraguay it was mentioned that problems are complex and a purely simplistic immediate assistance must be avoided. As to capacity building of families, it is understood that this is also an extremely complex process. Many families participated simply in order to receive the basic food basket or another material benefit. The educational and professional training of participants is usually very poor, which makes comprehension of values and training extremely tricky. The teachers from Ciudad del Este mentioned in the foregoing understand that there is a need for more capacity building. They also recognize the need for more didactic material for teachers who are joining in. Finally, a general observation made in the three countries, was the necessity of spreading awareness raising to the neighboring districts/ municipalities.

160 60 SRL - Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada; in English equivalent to Ltd. 61 This campaign occured simultaneously, complementarily and not exclusively, with the other two, by direct initiative of Itaipu Binacional, but effectively, with the intention of aggregating more effort in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation. ILO-IPEC carried out a specific campaign in Paraguay, in assoociation with Comunicación Visual. 62 In Argentina, where there was no campaign, material similar to the product for the Paraguayan campaign was used. 63 The name of the campaign, although it keeps the same meaning, shows small variations among the different reports, campaign materials and other items investigated. 64 The full duration of this stage was 5 months. Activities were to be carried out between March 15 and July 31, 2003. 65 Programme funded by the United States Department of Labor. 66 In June 2002, the Local Committees divulged their Action Plans for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. 67 Complete information on capacity-building events (content, methodology, total no. of trained people, etc.) may be obtained from data bases, progress reports from action programmes, seminars and training sessions. 68 In May 2004, the program ensures the participation of 20 representatives (at local and national level of the 3 countries involved) in the seminar to analyze good practices of ILO IPEC in the struggle against ESCI, conducted in Cartagena, Colombia. 69 In Puerto Iguazú, the Action Programme is funded by the Sub-Regional IPEC Programme for the MERCOSUR countries and Chile in an agreement with the Ministry of Labour of Argentina, with resources from the—Agência Espanhola de Cooperação – AECI.(Spanish Cooperation Agency). The information obtained indicates that its implementation was highly complicated due to changes in the Government, and coordination processes between the Local Commiittee, CONAETI and the Labour Department. 70 The launching of the campaign itself was an important moment for disseminating the Denunciation Hotline even more. 71 Communication Campaign for Dissemination and Awareness Raising for the Eradication of the Sexual Exploitation of Children.(Asunción, October, 2002) 72 Or even due to the fact that there had not been any acknowledgement by the different segments of society at the beginning as to the existence of the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents at the Triple Border. 73 N.T. The guaraní is the local currency in Paraguay. An amount of 135 million guaranís is equivalent to US $ 22,315.00 74 The Tancredo Neves Bridge, connecting Foz de Iguaçu to Puerto Iguaçu would only be inaugurated 20 years later, although the “Intention Treatise‘“for its construction had already been signed in 1972, by President Emilio Medici of

riple Border Area Brazil and Alejandro Lanusse of Argentina. In 1979, leaders from both cities created a Brazil - Argentina Mixed Commission, which obtained the decision to build the bridge from Presidents João Figueredo and Reynaldo Bignone in 1980. The cornerstone was set by both presidents on January 13, 1982 and November 29, 1985, Presidents José Sarney and Raul Alfonsim dedicated the bridge, 489 meters in length, a free 220 meter span, 16.50 meters in width and 72 meters high. Initially it was named Ponte da Fraternidade (Fraternity Bridge), in the same spirit that gave the bridge over the Paraná River the name of Friendship Bridge. With the death of Tancredo Neves, in the year of its dedication, it was decided to honor him by naming it the Tancredo Neves Bridge. 75 N.T: slang for traffickers of drugs, arms and other illegal merchandise

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INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

162 5. Conclusions and Next Steps

The Project for the Prevention and Elimination of the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border had local, national and international repercussions. It was a multinational effort that had to meet the demands of three countries. It involved elements of international law and, for the first time, in terms of IPEC, it had a product, which was a proposal for harmonizing legislations. In terms of advocacy, it was fundamental that Paraguay should ratify the ILO Convention 138 on minimum age. Another difference was the backing by a powerful company the size of Itaipu Binacional. Above all, the Triple Border project started to be seen as a way of working at the border together with other nations. The analysis of good practices and lessons learned allowed the identification of fundamental aspects to be taken into account when

riple Border Area implementing new projects. Most of the time, international agencies and local populations had different concepts of time, policies, social action and social priorities. In the specific case of the Triple Border, there was a historical day-to-day border experience, which was hard to convey to people not living there. For the ILO the certainty remains that capacity building is fundamental, especially when it incorporates “the best of the house”, as was the case with the teachers of Ciudad del Este. For the local population, they felt the power of mobilization, like when they blocked the bridge. For

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 163 everyone concerned, the press’s support was fundamental, during the campaigns, during the process of creating networks, or otherwise. The communication between law enforcement officers was essential in the discussion on CSEC and the trafficking of human beings, so that the perception of migration as a right could be incorporated. Analysis of good practices and lessons learned also allowed the identification of some dilemmas regarding institutional strengthening implemented through development cooperation projects. There were also institutional differences between agencies like ILO (which needs to follow a series of technical and administrative prerequisites to render project implementation feasible) and local institutions/entities with practically no former experience with funding through international cooperation agencies. It was confirmed that there was little local culture in handling projects based on logical milestones requiring control and AWARENESS RAISING AND proof of different qualitative and quantitative indicators. Consequently, this led to some tensions in institutional relations.

ILO projects, or those of any international agency, in no way intend to INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING replace public policies. However, they need to learn how to deal with local expectations in this area. In fact, projects are implemented, among other objectives, to create a demonstrative effect (in a micro-space), that it is indeed possible to solve certain problems, once all prerequisites are fulfilled. The local population has been the victim of public policies that were not executed up to the end, and for which there are practically no technical, financial and administrative controls. Consequently, they feel uncomfortable when having to provide an account, or revise reports, etc. To reverse this situation requires a great investment in citizenship, which includes the awareness that demanding accountability from government officials means that the mechanisms used to demonstrate this transparency must be applicable to all. In the words of a Brazilian authority, the Project knew, like the helmsman of a sailing ship, how to draw the map, as new territories were being explored. It experienced the pains and the glory of being a pioneering project in the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents in the country. In this sense, it became a reference for the development of public policies involving bi- or trinational cooperation. The Project also succeeded in getting ILO to take a position regarding the topic, giving it much-needed programmatic, political, social and

164 action legitimacy. Until then, the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents had been considered no more than a matter of human rights. The next steps obviously depend on the concretization of Convention 182 within government plans and budgets. It is essential that local players and their external mediators have a greater political presence in the development of Pluriannual Plans (PPA), in the same way that the political programme advocacy was essential to change the legislations in the three countries. All of this demonstrates that there is still some difficulty in building up municipal autonomy, in terms of local empowerment. Dependence on governments is great and resources do not flow smoothly. Based on evaluations made by the relevant players in reports and during interviews, plus our reflections, we conclude that the principal lesson learned was the awareness that it is possible to move the state from its central position, so that society is free to act, taking into account available resources, both present and potential. We conclude this work reminding everyone once again about the time issue, making a new comparison between the Project and the “Hunger Campaign”. In the words of its coordinator, Herbert de Souza (“Betinho”), the campaign was a project that would end only once all society of has been mobilized and public, agrarian, and agricultural policies had been changed. “The secret is that when you change one thing, the rest also changes. But what is the use of proposing great structural changes, if we do not manage to change the absolute minimum: the mind, the attitude, the behavior of people?” (Herbert de Souza, “Betinho”. O Globo, 10/26/ 1993) Luiz Eduardo Soares, who analyzed the “Hunger Campaign”, concluded

riple Border Area his work with a reflection that could also be applied to the Project for the Prevention and Elimination of Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents at the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border. “The campaign never achieved its goals - after all, it was created for that reason: to leave us halfway, with a responsibility the size of Brazil in our hands, but with some new resources to rewrite our assignment and our methods.” (Luiz Eduardo Soares; 1998:36)

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 165 The best thing the Project could have done was ”to leave” the Local Committees “halfway”, confronting them with a situation that can no longer be hidden, but with new tools for its transformation. In conclusion, one can certainly say that the Triple Border region, in Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) and Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) is today a milestone in terms of humanity, solidarity and development. It is facing a better future, one that is more just and harmonious for current and future generations of boys, girls and adolescents, and with the certainty that it is the result of positive actions and expectations: the before and after ILO.

AWARENESS RAISING AND

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

166 Bibliography

BOURDIEU, Pierre 1997 - “Efeitos de Lugar”. In:_ A Miséria do Mundo. Petrópolis, Vozes. BRASIL, CONGRESSO NACIONAL 2004 - Relatório Final da Comissão Parlamentar Mista de Inquérito criada por meio do Requerimento nº 02, de 2003-CN, “com a finalidade investigar as situações de violência e redes de exploração sexual de crianças e adolescentes no Brasil”.Brasília. July 2004 INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE (ILO)/ INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR THE ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOUR (IPEC) N/d - Good Practices Collection. Trafficking in Children and Adolescents for labour exploitation and commercial sexual exploitation. Report prepared for ILO-IPEC Vulnerable Group Unit (VG), by external collaborator Sylvia Biss.

riple Border Area 2001- Good Practices: Identification, Review, Structuring, Dissemination and Application. Evaluation and Documentation (DED)/Burt Perrin. IPEC/INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME ON THE ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOUR AND CONAETI/NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOUR OF ARGENTINA N/d -Programa “Luz de Infancia”, para la Prevención y Erradicación de la Explotación Sexual Comercial Infantil

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 167 MINISTRY OF LABOUR, EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY (ARGENTINEAN GOVERNMENT)/ PROGRAMME LUZ DE INFANCIA FOR THE PREVENTION AND ELIMINATION OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF GIRLS, BOYS AND ADOLESCENTS. N/d. Diagnóstico Local. Puerto Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina. Documento Final. Realizado por Lidia Schiavoni; Elba Gladys González; Rosa Massi López; Haydée G. de Ramos. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE /REGIONAL OFFICE FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN /INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME ON THE ELIMINATION OF CHILD LABOUR - IPEC N/d - Proyecto Prevención y erradicación del trabajo infantil doméstico en hogares de terceros en Sudamérica (Brasil, Colombia, Paraguay e Perú). Rla/00/53p/usa

2004 - Buenas Prácticas Y Aprendizajes Hacia La Prevención y Erradicación AWARENESS RAISING AND del Trabajo Infantil Doméstico, por Miguel Arenas Arango. Lima, May 2004 - Memorias Taller Regional Tejiendo el FuturoBuenas Prácticas en la Lucha contra laExplotación Sexual Comercial en AméricaLatina y el Caribe. Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, 28 to 30 April 2004. Document INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING elaborated by the technical team of the IPEC Subregional Coordination in South America. IP 2004- Contribución al ABC de la comunicación para prevenir y eliminar el Trabajo Infantil Doméstico. HINOSTROZA, Susana and ROEDER, Estela. ILO-IPEC/SIRTI-USDOL. Programa de Prevención y Eliminación del Trabajo Infantil Doméstico en Hogares de Terceros en Sudamérica. Lima. DAMERICA ILO-IPEC - PROJECT FOR THE PREVENTION AND ELIMINATION OF COMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF GIRLS, BOYS AND ADOLESCENTS AT THE BORDER BRAZIL-PARAGUAY 2002- Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes - Brasil- Foz do Iguaçu: diagnóstico rápido, conducted by Janicleide Ferreira and Tânia Stolz (researchers of the Universidade Federal do Paraná); 2002- A Exploração Sexual Comercial na Legislação Brasileira - lacunas e recomendações, written by Marcia Anita Sprandel, Adriana Mourão Romero and Henrique José Antão de Carvalho; 2002-A Oferta Institucional para responderàs necessidades de atenção e promoção dos direitos das crianças e adolescentes atingidos pela exploração sexual comercial infanto-juvenil em Foz do Iguaçu - Brasil, conducted by Ana Gilka Duarte

168 2002- Capacitação de agentes de prevenção da exploração sexual comercial infantil de Foz do Iguaçu - systematization and distribution of data produced during the training of pupils and young multiplyers, 25 to 29 November 2002 2002- Capacitação de agentes de prevenção da exploração sexual comercial infantil de Foz do Iguaçu. Systematization and distribution of dataproduced during the training of members of the public network of state education. Target group: techars of the State Network, 28 October to 01 November 2002 2002- Sensiblização de prevenção da exploração sexual comercial infantil de Foz do Iguaçu. Systematization and distribution of data produced during the awareness raising of members f the public network of education of the Municipal School Ponte da Amizade, conducted on 02 December 2002 2002- A Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes nas Legislações de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguai: alternativas de harmonização para o Mercosul, written by Marcia Anita Sprandel, Adriana Mourão Romero and Henrique José Antão de Carvalho. Assuncion, ILO/IPEC South America. 2003 - Campanha de comunicação para difundir e sensibilizar a favor da Prevenção e Eliminação da Exploração Sexual infantil etapa Foz do Iguaçu e Paraná. Ciranda - Central de Notícias dos Direitos da Infância e Adolescência. Curitiba, February 2003- Capacitação de profissionais área jurídico - policial 1o módulo - 20 de agosto de 2003; 2o módulo - 10 de setembro de 2003; 3o módulo - 24 de setembro de 2003; 4o módulo - 08 de outubro e 2003 2003- Capacitação de Agentes Sociais Educativos Rede Estadual, Rede Municipal e Rede Particular Foz do Iguaçu - Paraná Relatório Final de Atividades (Fase Preparatória / Execução / Considerações Finais) 21, 22, 23 and 24 October 2003. Miniauditório da UNIOESTE 2003- A Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes na Fronteira Brasil - Paraguai - Argentina (síntese e avaliação). Organization and systematization: Marcia Anita Sprandel and Huda Jamaleddine. 2004- Oficinas de Sensibilização - Setor Turístico - Relatório de

riple Border Area Atividades. Consultants: Luiz Bonassi & Ricardo Santiago Period: October 2003 to August 2004 2005 - Relatório Final - Consultoria Capacitação de comunicadores em Puerto Iguazú, apoio à capacitação de operadores de turismo (Puerto Iguazú e Ciudad del Este) e apoio ao Comitê de Foz do Iguaçu na definição de mecanismos de monitoramento do setor turístico Vânia Welte.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 169 INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR THE ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR (IPEC)/ INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO)/ PROGRAMME FOR THE PREVENTION OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AT THE ARGENTINA - BRAZIL - PARAGUAY TRIPLE BORDER 2002 - Terminos de Referencia. Campaña de comunicación para difundir y sensibilizar a favor de la Erradicación de la Explotación Sexual infantil.‘Asunción, October. 2002 -Explotación Sexual Comercial de Niñas y Adolescentes - Paraguay- Ciudad del Este. Rapid Assessment, conducted by José Gaspar Britos (PREVER); 2002- Marco Legal para Confrontación de la Explotación Sexual Comercial de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes en Paraguay,conducted by Tereza Martinez (Fiscalía) and Lourdes Barboza (Secretária de la Niñez y Adolescencia); AWARENESS RAISING AND 2002-Políticas sociales y oferta institucional para la confrontación de la explotación sexual comercial de niñas, niños y adolescentes en la frontera Paraguay - Brasil (Ciudad del Este), conducted by José Gaspar Britos.

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING 2002- La explotación sexual infantil: Un análisis sobre la práctica profesional periodística. Informe de conclusiones. Presented by Luis Vallovera Antúnez. Asunción, December 2002 2003- Informe del Seminario de Evaluación Intermedia. Foz do Iguaçu (Brasil)– 10 and 11 April 2003. By Dominique Demelenne. 2003-..Evaluación intermedia del proyecto. Informe Final. By Dominique Demelenne. Asunción, August 2003- Términos de Referencia (Tor) Evaluación Intermedia del Proyecto“Prevencion y Eliminación de la Explotación Sexual Comercial de Ninas, Ninos y Adolescentes en la Frontera Paraguay-Brazil” (Rla 0055p/ Usa) 2004- Consultoría para el análisis y sistematización de los resultados de la metodología adoptada para los servicios de atención directa ofrecidos a niños/as y adolescentes y sus familias en los centros de referencia instalados en la Triple Frontera (Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçu). Informe final. June 2004. Consultoría: Marta Casal Caharrón 2005- Informe. Consultoría para la Formulación del Plan de Cooperación Trilateral entre los Gobiernos Locales, Comités de operadores de derecho de Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), Foz do Iguazú (Brasil) y Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) para la implementación de Políticas de Combate de CSEC en la Región de la Triple Frontera. Puerto Iguazú. Consultant: Cynthia Bendlin SOARES, Luiz Eduardo 1998 . “A ‘campanha contra a fome’ como experimento radical”. In: O impacto social do trabalho das ONGs no Brasil. São Paulo, ABONG. 170 Annex

ANNEX 1: Inventory of communication material for the project: Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents on the Argentina/Brazil/Paraguay Border The Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents on the Argentina/Brazil/ Paraguay Border had a strategic social mobilization and awareness- raising component that included steering public opinion in favor of the eradication of this phenomenon and campaigns to penalize offenders. During its nearly four years of existence, the Programme has implemented education-, information- and publicity-related actions that were essential for its viability, and for denaturalizing the problem of the riple Border Area sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the Triple Border region. The impact of these actions was felt until Asunción (Paraguay) and Curitiba (capital of the state of Paraná, Brazil). We agree with Roeder and Hinostroza (ILO/IPEC, 2004) in saying that communication materials constitute supporting elements. These, as well as the different campaigns that were carried out, are some of the Programme’s most tangible results.

Programme for Prevention and Elimination Programme of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in the T Boys (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay) 171 The following is an inventory of the Programme’s main communication material, in accordance with what its coordinators sent us, with a basic description of its format and content. Based on Roeder and Hinostroza’s cataloguing proposal, we have divided the material into: Publications - Material that analyzes the situation more profoundly, usually presented in the form of books or magazines; Dissemination material - Everything that strengthens the identity of the Programme or campaign, based on images and/or information. They are focused on drawing the audience’s attention and may be thought provoking; Educational material - To support and/or strengthen communication activities whose purpose is to improve the public’s level of

knowledge. Usually used in workshops, capacity building events, AWARENESS RAISING AND etc; and Advertising material - Everything that serves as visual support to the communication campaigns, whose main characteristics are their practical value and short and focused messages. INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING It should be noted that some of this material may have more than one purpose (educational and dissemination of information, for example) and that under each of these sub-classifications there are different types of material (printed, audio, audiovisual, multimedia).

172 Publications

Paraguay and Argentina CARVALHO, Henrique; ROMERO, Adriana; and SPRANDEL, Marcia (Coord.). La Explotación Sexual Comercial de Niños, Ninas y Adolescentes en las Legislaciones de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay: alternativas de armonización para el MERCOSUR. Asunción, ILO/IPEC South America, 2004, 128p. • This document The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls and Adolescents in the Legislations of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay: alternatives for harmonization for the MERCOSUR (in Spanish) is a first comparative study of the legislations of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The goal is to present proposals for improvement and harmonization, as well as to recommend the signing of a trilateral public policy agreement that enables the prevention and elimination of commercial exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents in the Triple Border region. It also includes a set of proposals for judicial and jurisdictional harmonization and cooperation within the Mercosur framework. Brazil CARVALHO, Henrique; ROMERO, Adriana; and SPRANDEL, Marcia (Coord.). A Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes nas Legislações de Argentina, Brasil, Paraguai: alternativas de harmonização para o MERCOSUL. Asunción, ILO/IPEC South America, 2004, 124 p. • The document The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Legislations of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay (in Portuguese) is a comparison between Argentinean, Brazilian and Paraguayan 173 legislation. The goal is to present, improve and harmonize proposals, and to recommend the signing of a trilateral public policy agreement in order to facilitate the prevention and elimination of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents in the Triple Border region. The text includes a set of proposals under discussion for judicial and jurisdictional harmonization and cooperation within the scope of the Mercosur.

Capacity Building Guides

Paraguay and Argentina GUÍA PARA FORMADORES DE OPINIÓN. Conceptos y Orientaciones para el Abordaje de la Explotación Sexual Comercial Infantil. Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the triple border Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay. Financed by the US Department of Labor. Asunción, December 2002. • The purpose of this Guide for Opinion Makers (in Spanish) is to present the press with concepts, proposals and tools in order to support the journalists’ and mass media’s vital task. The publication has been divided into: a first conceptual part, a second part with a national and international legal focus, and a third part about the journalistic forms of approach to CSEC and recommendations for action in this area. GUÍA PARA AGENTES COMUNITARIOS. Explotación Sexual Comercial Infantil. Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the triple border Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay. Financed by the US Department of Labor. Internacional Labor Office; first edition 2003.

174 · As its name states, the Guide for Community Agents (in Spanish) contains basic information for prosecutors, social workers and community leaders interested in promoting action to prevent and eradicate the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. The material includes basic information on how to intervene in the case of the sexual exploitation of children, both as regards the treatment of the boys, girls and adolescents, as well as regards knowledge of procedures and denunciation places. LÓPEZ, Oscar; BACHERO, Regina; FERREIRA, Isa. GUÍA PARA DOCENTES. DIRIGIDA A LA COMUNIDAD EDUCATIVA. Cuaderno para el debate. Explotación Sexual Comercial Infantil. Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the triple border Argentina-Brazil- Paraguay. Financed by the US Department of Labor. International Labour Office; first edition 2003. LÓPEZ, Oscar; BACHERO, Regina; FERREIRA, Isa. · This Teachers’ Guide (in Spanish) - Aimed at the Teaching Community belongs to a set of five publications. The objective of this Guide is to provide teachers with basic material for conducting debates (organized as encounters) regarding the forms, causes and consequences of commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents, including basic concepts, institutions acting upon the problem, and minimum procedures for a denunciation. CUADERNO PARA EL DEBATE. Explotación Sexual Comercial Infantil. Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents in the triple border Argentina- Brazil-Paraguay. Financed by the US Department of Labor. International Labour Office; first edition 2003. · The Debate Booklet (in Spanish) contains basic information for any individual or agency

175 intending to take action to protect and defend the rights of boys, girls and adolescents. This includes girls, boys and adolescents in a situation of sexual exploitation. The goal of the publication is to show how to ensure their protection. The document includes some basic concepts, and a specific analysis of commercial sexual exploitation of children in Paraguay as well as in the region as a whole. The basic legislations are presented at the end. Brasil GUÍA PARA JORNALISTAS. Campanha de Prevenção e Combate à Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes na Tríplice Fronteria - Argentina / Brasil / Paraguai. Um manual de auxílio ao trabalho na Imprensa (como driblar barreiras; sugestões de abordagens; fontes para informações). Curitiba - Paraná - Brasil; 2003. · The way the press deals with the problem of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents is the motivating element of this Guide for Journalists (in Portuguese). It is meant “to be a tool to help professionals in the media deal with topics related to the commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents” in the best way possible, with a bit of spark, sensitivity, consideration, persistence and lucidity. Organized around some key questions, and giving appropriate responses, the guide also contains a series of concepts and specific legislations as well as analyses of material, giving suggestions on ways to approach the topic and some guidelines. It provides a series of sources, sites and an important glossary.

176 FERREIRA, Isa. Combate à Exploração Sexual Comercial de Crianças e Adolescentes: GUIA DE REFERÊNCIA PARA EDUCADORES/AS. Assunción, ILO, 2003, 64 p. · This Reference Guide for Teachers (in Portuguese) is an orientation guide for schools whose goal is to help prevent and eliminate sexual violence against girls, boys and adolescents in all its manifestations. The publication is divided into four parts: the first is centered around conceptual issues like problem analyses and how schools should act, the second presents the main characteristics of the problem and the ways that exploitation networks operate, the third gives suggestions in the educational area and finally, the fourth provides information on different organizations and contacts. MANUAL DE CONCIENTIZACIÓN. SETOR TURÍSTICO. Programme of Integral Attention to Children and Adolescents in situation of commercial sexual exploitation in Foz do Iguaçu. Consultants Luiz Bonassi (psychologist) and Ricardo Caprário (tourist guide). Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, 2004, 11 p. · This Awareness Building Manual for the Tourism Sector (in Portuguese) features, in an objective manner, the main entities (UN, ILO) and programs (IPEC) for eliminating child labor. It explains the methodological aspects of the fight against the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents (diagnosis, mobilization, awareness raising, workshops, monitoring, and evaluation). It presents basic concepts to ensure the networks’ better performance in relation to the dynamics of CSEC. Lastly it “gives a profile of” (a) the exploited child and adolescent; (b) the exploiter, and (c) the border, with its heterogeneity (adventure, sexual fantasies, sexual practices with minors, maintenance of impunity and its serious social problems.) 177 Dissemination Material

Information catalogues, folders, web pages, leaflets, posters, invitations to events, videos, CD-ROMs. Paraguay1 Poster from the SEMINAR Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Triple Border Region (Argentina-Paraguay-Brazil): Actions for its prevention and eradication. July 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2002. Caption: ”so much is not seen... but what do you do about what you DO see?”. Program for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Brazil/Paraguay Border. Sponsors: City Government of Foz do Iguaçu, Government of ALTO PARANÁ, City Government of Ciudad Del Este - Paraguay, ITAIPU BINACIONAL. Size: 40,0 x 60,0 cm (vertical). Compositión: ‘caption’ (white characters on black background), name of event, dates and color picture. Campaign-Launching Sticker Content: “The sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents is a crime and it shall be paid for.” - ILO/IPEC. Size: 11.0 x 86.0 cm (in the form of a horizontal banner). Composition: three colors (white, blue and yellow). Note: In November 2002, Club Olympia, the professional Paraguayan soccer team, entered the field for an official game carrying the aforementioned banner. This gave the campaign greater visibility 1 A major part of all material produced for Paraguay has also been used by Argentina, which did not have its own communication campaign. The original material features the text in italics in Spanish. 178 Campaign Sticker Content: “How much does a girl cost?‘Her rights are priceless. The sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a crime and it shall be paid for.” - ILO/IPEC. Size: 4.0 x 12.0 cm (horizontal). Composition: three colors (white, blue and yellow). Folder from the seminar “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Triple Border Region - Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay: ACTIONS DEVELOPED FOR ITS PREVENTION AND ERADICATION. ILO/IPEC (Regional Workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean).” Content: I. Background and Justification; II. Seminar Objectives (the folder also includes the program, agencies supporting the event and a list of members from the local committees from Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad Del Este). Size: 15.5 x 15.5 cm. Composition: (two sheets in two colors - blue and gray, folded vertically) Picture of the Little Virgin of Caacupé Content: Prayer for exploited children and adolescents: Little Virgin of Caacupé, we beg you to protect children and adolescents. Little Virgen of Caacupé, We ask you to protect boys, girls and adolescents Because I cannot smile I want you to teach me how to be happy Because I don’t know how to read or write I want you to help me live Because they make me cry I want you to teach me to count Because I never have peace I want you to help me pray Because disease keeps me from singing I want you to teach me how to love 179 Because abuse has no end I want you to intervene for me Because I have no strength to leave I want you to help me have faith in myself Because YOU are my light and my guide In my nights of agony. Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a crime… and it shall be paid for.” Archdiocese of the Most Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary - ILO/IPEC Size: 7.5 x 11.0 cm Composition: In the form of a small image of a saint, back to back (front: color picture of the Little Virgin of Caacupé; back: the prayer for exploited boys, girls and adolescents). Color Sticker from CEAPRA Content: full name of the institution (CEAPRA - Center for Care, Prevention and Monitoring for Children and Adolescents - CSEC). Size: 9.0 x 9.0 cm. Composition: seven colors (white, blue, orange, red, green and yellow, with black characters). CEAPRA folder - Center for Care, Prevention and Monitoring for Children and Adolescents - CSEC - (Diocese of Ciudad Del Este). Content: an explanation of the center’s objectives, services offered, institutional support received (collaborating institutions: ILO; ITAIPU BINACIONAL; Fundación TESAI - Asistencia Medica Integral; Municipality of Ciudad del Este) and address. Size: 20.0 x 30.0 cm. Composition: seven colors (white, blue, orange, red, green and yellow with black characters), three-page folder.

180 Leaflet - HOPE FOUNDATION OF ALTO PARANA (FEAP for its abbreviation in Spanish) los niños, niñas y jóvenes en situación de explotación sexual comercial. Service and Training Centre for family members of children and adolescents in a situation of commercial sexual exploitation. PROGRAMME CSEC. ILO/IPEC. Content: Front cover - “Let us help build a better future. The commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a crime and will be punished.” The document contains institutional information, objectives, requirements, support mechanisms and addresses/contacts. Regarding training courses, a “Sewing and handicraft-course” is given. A schedule of courses offered by the institution is available, as well as a program of courses yet to be implemented. Size: 15.5 x 19.5 cm. Composition: A mini-magazine (12 color pages). Folder - HOPE FOUNDATION OF ALTO PARANA (FEAP for its abbreviation in Spanish) Service and Capacity-Building Workshop Center. Content: Front cover - “Programme for the Prevention and Eradication of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents based on their Families’ Professional Training”. The publication is a summary of the HOPE FOUNDATION OF ALTO PARANA Booklet (above), and contains institutional information, objectives, needs, support mechanisms and addresses/contact information plus several pictures of courses offered by the FEAP (includes making strawberry jam, homemade marmelades, furniture, slippers and shoe-repair, etc.) Size: 21.0 x 33.0 cm Composition: color edition (three-sheet folder).

181 LO/IPEC. Folder. PROGRAMME FOR THE PREVENTION AND ELIMINATION OF THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION of Children and Adolescents in the Triple Border Region between ARGENTINA, BRAZIL and PARAGUAY. Comercial de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes en la Triple Frontera. Content: Front cover - “Integral Actions of the Programme for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Triple Border Region between ARGENTINA, BRAZIL and PARAGUAY.” (Funded by the United States Department of Labor). The publication discusses the main characteristics of the problem, and provides an account of the actions performed by the program in Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazú. At the end, it presents a few answers regarding what can be done legally and lists the most important addresses. Size: 21.0 x 33.0 cm. Composition: color edition (three-sheet folder). World Day Against Child Labor Folder. Content: Information on the activities on the Friendship Bridge. Text is back to back, featuring the same text in Portuguese and Spanish: World Day Against Child Labor. Friendship Bridge. Large-Scale Mobilization. Let’s block the bridge, for a Triple Border free of sexual exploitation. For a world free of child labor. Let us show that we are AGAINST child and adolescent trafficking for forced labor and sexual exploitation”. The folder provides contact information of the General Coordinator in Asunción and in the three cities: Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazu. ILO/IPEC. Size: 21.0 x 30.0 cm (horizontal). Composition: color edition (folded into two pages).

182 Poster of the mobilization on October 20th, 2003. Public demonstration organized by the ILO in partnership with the Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour. Coordinator of the Trade Unions of the South Cone. Content: “We say NO to the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Trade unions must participate in that fight. Informing its members about intervention strategies, developing specific campaigns to fight this crime, identifying and denouncing occurrences, participating in committees or networks to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. Prevention of Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents at the Triple Border. ILO. Size: 39.0 x 57.0 cm (vertical). Composition: color poster, with ‘caption’, text and color picture. July 2003 Poster (ILO/IPEC and CEAPRA) Content: They, too, have the right to be respected. The sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a crime and shall be punished! Programme to Eliminate the Sexual Exploitation of Children. Size: 39.0 x 57.0 cm (vertical). Composition: color poster, with ‘captions’ and color picture. October 2003 Poster (Dial Denunciation) Content: STOP. Sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a crime (and will be punished). Denunciation telephone numbers: 061-509684/ 0983-515515/ 0993 - 281282. (ILO/IPEC) Size: 39.0 x 57.0 cm (horizontal) Composition: red and white poster, with ‘caption’ and illustration.

183 Poster for schools Content: My school prevents the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. My school fights exploitation by: Detecting and preventing occurrences; Protecting exploited girls and boys; Re- inserting them in school; Denouncing perpetrators; Promoting discussions in classrooms; Participating in community prevention networks. Children and Adolescents Protected Against Sexual Exploitation at the Triple Border. ILO. Size: 40.0 x 60.0 cm (vertical). Composition: color poster, with ‘caption’ and color picture. Denunciation Hotline - Sticker Content: Campaign against the sexual abuse and exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. DENOUNCE: 0983 - 688 888. Your call is free and confidential. SUPPORTED BY: The Network for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents - Alto Paraná. ILO. ITAIPU BINACIONAL. Size: 6.0 x 10.0 cm. Composition: three colors (white and red with black characters). Denunciation Hotline - Mini Poster (from November 25, 2003 onwards) Content: Material on the “Campaign against the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents”. Contains an introductory text about sexual exploitation and abuse, presented as one of worst forms of violence against girls, boys and adolescents. It also contains some information about the Network for the Protection of the Rights of Girls, boys and Adolescents, appealing to the population: “You can also be a part of this protection network. Commit yourself!!! Denounce!!! Seek help!!! 0983 - 688 888 - Your call is free and confidential. Network for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents - Alto Paraná. ILO. SUPPORT: ITAIPU BINACIONAL. 184 Size: 18.0 x 30.0 cm (vertical). Composition: five colors (white, pink, red and yellow, with black characters). Denunciation Hotline - Sticker Content: Campaign against the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. “Thanks to your work, I am protected”. DENUNCIATION HOTLINE 0983 - 688 888. Your call is free and confidential CEAPRA. ILO/IPEC. ITAIPU BINACIONAL. Size: 9.0 cm diameter (round colored plastic). Composition: five colors (white, pink, red and yellow, with black characters). Denunciation Hotline - Sticker Content: Campaign against the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. “Thanks to your support, I am guaranteed a better future for myself”. DENUNCIATION HOTLINE 0983 - 688 888. Your call is free and confidential CEAPRA. ILO/IPEC. ITAIPU BINACIONAL. Size: 9.0 cm in diameter (round colored plastic). Composition: six colors (white, blue, pink, red and yellow, with black characters). Denunciation Hotline - Mini Poster. Content: “Sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents puts an end to their dreams. Dial and denounce: 0983 - 688 888. Your call is free and confidential. Don’t be an accomplice to this nightmare”. Network for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents - Alto Paraná. ILO (PARAGUAY and BRAZIL Committees). SUPPORTED BY: ITAIPU BINACIONAL. Size: 12.0 x 22.0 cm (vertical). Composition: seven colors (white, blue, pink, red, green and yellow, with black characters).

185 Denunciation Hotline Folder Content: Front and back. On the front: “Campaign against the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. Sexual abuse puts an end to their dreams. Don’t be an accomplice.” Dial and denounce: 0983 - 688 888. Your call is free and confidential. Network for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents - Alto Paraná. ILO (PARAGUAY and BRAZIL Committees). SUPPORTED BY: ITAIPU BINACIONAL (in Spanish). On the back, a short text with data concerning girls, boys and adolescents working in the worst forms of child labor. This includes any form of commercial sexual exploitation: child prostitution, sexual tourism, child pornography and child trafficking with sexual purposes. “Many girls, boys and adolescents suffer the nightmare of abuse and exploitation. Denounce. Don’t be an accomplice.” Size: 18.0 x 21.0 cm (vertical). Composition: seven colors (white, blue, pink, red, green, yellow and black). Denunciation Hotline Poster Content: “Campaign against the sexual abuse and exploitation of children and adolescents. Sexual abuse puts an end to their dreams. Denounce: 0983 - 688 888. Your call is free and confidential. Network for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents - Alto Paraná. ILO (PARAGUAY and BRAZIL Committees). SUPPORTED BY: ITAIPU BINACIONAL. Dimension: 50.0 x 70.0 cm (vertical): Composition: seven colors (white, blue, pink, red, green and yellow, with black characters). 2004 Calendar Content: “Campaign against the sexual abuse and exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. Triple Border against the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. On the Paraguayan side: 186 DENOUNCE: 0983 688 888. On the Brazilian side: DENOUNCE: 0800 6438 111. ILO - PARAGUAY AND BRAZIL Committees; Network for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents - Alto Paraná. Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. ITAIPU BINACIONAL. Size: 15.0 x 17.0 cm (horizontal). Composition: six colors (white, yellow, blue, red, green and black). Baseball Cap Content: “Sexual Exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents is a crime and it will be paid for” (in Spanish). Size: one size fits all Composition: standard type, with front brim (predominant color: blue, with white and yellow characters). Brasil ILO Folder Content: Material disseminated by ILO (18 June 2003), explaining the role of companies in confronting sexual exploitation involving girls, boys and adolescents. “Sexual exploitation against children and adolescents: how companies can contribute to its elimination.” It contains important information about “Brazilian society’s” conceptual misunderstandings, as they consider the problem of sexual exploitation simply a case for the police. It describes the current situation with regard to the problem, mobilization and articulation, defense and responsabilization, care, prevention and child and adolescent activism. It also states the Brazilian legislation relevant to the topic, and some data about the phenomenon in question, as well as the best ways to confront different ‘types of exploitation’. The folder provides addresses/contacts ‘to know more about the matter’ and says that to denounce, one must contact the Child Protection Council. National 187 Denunciation Toll Free Number 0800 99.05.00. Supported by: Instituto ETHOS; Fundação ABRINQ; Frente Parlamentar pela Criança e pelo Adolescente; ABIGRAF; BRACELPA; COFENAR; CYRELA; BRASIL REALTY. Initiative: A World without Child Labor - A Freedom Movement; National Child Prevention and Eradication Forum; and ILO. Size: 21.0 x 31.0 cm Composition: color edition on a light blue and white background (folded into three pages - back to back). ILO/IPEC Folder: Programme for the prevention and elimination of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in the triple border region (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay). Content: Front cover –“Integrated actions for the Prevention and Eradication of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in the Triple Border Region (Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay).” (Funded by the United States Department of Labor). The publication provides the main characteristics of the problem in the border area and assesses actions implemented by the programme in Ciudad del Este, Foz do Iguaçu and Puerto Iguazu, offering suggestions for legal action, indicating procedures and “successful interventions”. Relevant addresses and contacts are listed. Size: 21.0 x 33.0 cm. Composition: color edition (folded into three pages). Folder of the Network of the Programme for Integral Attention to Children and Adolescents in Social Risk Situations. Content: Provides information related to each of the Reference Centers: I (Programa Sentinela), II (SCNSA - Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida) and III (CR-III, where art, pedagogical and therapeutic workshops were developed). The Network Technical Team is introduced and respective addresses/contacts given.

188 Size: 20.0 x 30.0 cm. Composition: color edition (folded into three pages - back to back). Dissemination of the “Sentinela” Program. Content: Program to Combat the Abuse and Sexual Exploitation of Boys, girls and adolescents. “Don’t be an accomplice to this crime. Denounce!” The advertisement features the telephone numbers of the “DENUNCIATION HOTLINE” service of the ‘Programa Sentinela’ and the ‘Guardianship Council’, as well as that of their institutional partners. Size: 14.5 x 19.5 cm (vertical). Composition: white background, color illustration and blue, black and red characters. Sticker of the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Content: “I participate in the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents.” The sticker nominates the supporting institutions: Ciranda; ANDI; ILO/IPEC; Paraná Tourism; and the Tourism Secretariat. Size: 10.0 x 10.0 cm. Composition: white background, color illustration; pink, blue and black characters. Pamphlet of the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (Foz do Iguaçu, May 18, 2003). Content: Front cover - “Say NO to Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. COMMIT YOURSELF! Glue to your chest the symbol of adhesion to the Network against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents!” The text contains a series of quantitative information related to sexual exploitation. It also provides justification * The original material for the formation of the Network, states the main features the text in italics in rights of girls, boys and adolescents, and presents Portuguese. the main concepts (and crimes) related to sexual 189 exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents. Along those lines, the text tries to answer the following questions “Who is a sexual exploiter?”, “Where does it happen?”, and “What does the Triple Border lose with the commercial sexual exploitation of boys, girls and adolescents?” It explains “how to denounce” and examines the role of the media (journalists), and of the tourism and transportation sectors. The text describes how the exploitation network functions and how it can be faced by means of a protection network. Lastly, it provides addresses/telephone numbers of the Denunciation Hotline and other services in Foz do Iguaçu. Published by ILO/IPEC; the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents; and Ciranda. Strategic support: Faculdades Curitiba. Size: 15.0 x 21.0 cm (horizontal). Composition: a mini-magazine (28 color pages, with a defined margin). Folder of the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Content: Front Cover - “Say NO to commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. COMMIT YOURSELF! Glue to your chest the symbol of adhesion to the Network against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents!” The text provides information on actions already being implemented by ILO/IPEC in Ciudad del Este and Foz do Iguaçu, and further basic information regarding the main concepts and terms related to the sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. When listing contact addresses and telephone numbers for participating in the network, the text states that it is one’s duty to exercise “a permanent social vigilance” (…) “demanding that authorities fulfill their responsibility of arresting and punishing offenders.” Size: 15.0 x 21.0 cm. Composition: color edition (folded into three pages - back to back). 190 Denunciation Hotline Poster (May 18, 2003) Content: The commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents must come to an end. Commit yourself! Call and denounce. It is everyone’s duty to fight and denounce the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents. Do your part by contributing to the Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents! Don’t let those who practice these acts go unpunished. Contact the denunciation services in your city!” In Foz do Iguaçu: 0800643-8111 or (45) 521-1268 and 572-9189. In Curitiba: 156. Realization: ILO/IPEC; Ciranda. Strategic support: Faculdades Curitiba. Size: 40.0 x 60.0 cm (horizontal). Composition: gray and white poster with ‘caption’ and picture. Poster for schools (October 2003). Content: “My school is involved in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of girls, boys and adolescents. My school is participating in this fight. Detecting and preventing occurrences; Protecting exploited children and adolescents; Guaranteeing the re-insertion of children and adolescents into school; Denouncing perpetrators; Promoting discussions in classrooms; Participating in community prevention networks.” Children and Adolescents Protected from Sexual Exploitation in the Triple Border Region. Denunciation Hotline: 0800-643 8111. Financed by the United States Department of Labor. ILO. Size: 40.0 x 60.0 cm (vertical). Composition: color poster, with ‘caption’, text and color picture. Invitation to the Children’s Day Celebration Content: “For a Better World”. Sunday, October 12th. Campaign material for the Fight against Commercial

191 Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Describes the activities scheduled for the Children’s Day Celebration. FM 97.7; UDC - União Dinâmica de Faculdades Cataratas; ILO/IPEC; Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents; Supported by: ITAIPU Binacional. Size: 12.0 x 22.5 cm (vertical). Composition: green background; black and white illustration; with pink, yellow, black and white characters. Poster for the Children’s Day Celebration Content: “For a Better World”. Sunday, October 12th. Campaign material for the Fight against Sexual Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, describing the activities scheduled for the celebration of Children’s Day. FM 97.7; UDC - União Dinâmica de Faculdades Cataratas; ILO/IPEC; Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents; Supported by: ITAIPU Binacional. Size: 30.0 x 55.0 cm (vertical). Composition: green background; black and white illustration with pink, yellow, black and white characters. Denunciation Hotline Poster Content: ”Campaign against the commercial sexual abuse of children and adolescents. Abuse and sexual commerce of children and adolescents. Denounce. Seek help: 0800 - 6438 111. Your call is free and confidentiality is guaranteed”. ILO/IPEC (BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY Committees); Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents; Supported by: ITAIPU Binacional. Size: 34.0 x 54.0 cm (vertical). Composition: six colors (illustration in blue, orange, white and black on a green background, with details in pink, and black and white characters). 192 Denunciation Hotline Sticker Content: “Abuse and sexual commerce of children and adolescents. Denounce - Seek help: 0800 - 6438 111. Your call is free and confidentiality is guaranteed”. ILO/IPEC (BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY Committees); Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Supported by: ITAIPU Binacional. Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Size: 10.0 x 14.0 cm (horizontal). Composition: four colors (white background, details in orange, red and black, with black characters and white numbers). Dissemination material for May 18th, 2003. Content: The material disseminated is printed back to back. The following information appears on the front: “Children and Adolescents are Protagonists in the Fight against Impunity. To forget is to allow. To remember is to fight. May 18th: National Day against the Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Denounce sexual violence against children and adolescents. 0800 6438 111”. It also mentions the Campaign against the Commercial Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents and its institutional partners: ILO/ IPEC (BRAZIL AND PARAGUAY Committees); Network against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents; Supported by: ITAIPU. On the back the material has a short text with the title “SAY NO TO SEXUAL VIOLENCE TO CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS”. Size: 10.5 x 19.0 cm (vertical). Composition: composition on a blue background, ‘mustard’ and white (artwork with yellow, black and pink details, and black and white characters).

193 Calendar 2004. Content: “This establishment has joined the Network against the Abuse and Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents. Seek help - Denounce: 0800-643 8111. Implementation: Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida. Supported by: ILO-IPEC”. Size: 15.5 x 19.0 cm (horizontal) Composition: six colors (red and light blue background, numbers in dark blue and red; blue and white characters). Bookmark Content: “Foz do Iguaçu joins the Network against Abuse and the Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents. Seek help - Denounce: 0800-643 8111. Implementation: Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida. Supported by: ILO-IPEC.” Size: 5.0 x 20.0 cm (vertical). Composition: four colors (light blue background, picture of the Iguazu waterfall in blue and white, numbers in red and blue, red and white characters).

Dissemination material of the Network against Abuse and Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents. Content: “Foz do Iguaçu is a member of the Network against Abuse and the Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents. Seek help - Denounce: 0800-643 8111. Implementation: Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida. Supported by: ILO-IPEC”. Size: 14.5 x 20.0 cm (vertical) Composition: red background and picture of the Iguazu waterfall in blue and white, blue and white characters, numbers in red.

194 Dissemination Material of the Network against Abuse and the Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents. Content: “Join the Network against Abuse and the Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents. Seek help - Denounce: 0800-643 8111. Implementation: Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida. Supported by: ILO-IPEC”. Size: 14.5 x 20.0 cm (vertical) Composition: red and white background, white characters and red numbers. Poster of the Network against Abuse and the Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents Content: ”This establishment is a member of the Network against Abuse and the Sexual Commerce of Children and Adolescents. This establishment participates in the fight by: Denouncing perpetrators; Detecting and preventing occurrences; Guaranteeing the protection of children and adolescents; Participating in community prevention networks; Promoting debates on the subject; Protecting exploited children and adolescents. Seek help - Denounce: 0800-643 8111. Implementation: Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida. Supported by: ILO-IPEC.” Size: 30.0 x 44.0 cm (vertical). Composition: artwork with red and light blue background, white and blue characters and red numbers. Denunciation Hotline Sticker Content: “The Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children and Adolescents is a Crime. DENOUNCE: 0800-643 8111. Realization: Programa Sentinela, Sociedade Civil Nossa Senhora Aparecida; REDEscobrir - Centro de Referência III (Reference Center III). Supported by: ILO-IPEC and ITAIPU BINACIONAL.”

195 Size: 9.5 x 13.5 cm (vertical). Composition: text on blue and white background, with black, blue and white characters and black numbers. Mini Leaflet of the Network against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (June, 2004). Content: Front Cover - Artwork in gray and light blue. Logo of the Network against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Initial Text - Do you know the monster who is scaring your child? The text of the leaflet is a series of fundamental concepts. It also provides information about the ‘behavioral change’ of boys, girls and adolescents who are victims of sexual exploitation, as well as physical consequences and other information related to the problem. Lastly, the document gives addresses and Denunciation Hotline telephone numbers in Brazil (0800 900 500) and other services in Foz do Iguaçu. Published by ILO/IPEC; and Ciranda Central de Notícias dos direitos da Infância e adolescência (Ciranda News Headquarters for the Rights of Children and Adolescents). Supported by: Faculdades Curitiba. Size: 10.5 x 15.0 cm (horizontal). Composition: Publication in the form of a mini- magazine (eight color pages, with a white and light blue background, and blue and red characters).

196 Anexo 2 • Selection of drawings

Selection of some drawings (or parts of drawings) produced in an event carried out in June 2004, by children of the Public Schools in Ciudad del Este (Paraguay), in the context of World Day against Child Labour. The art works were presented on 10 June, in the Basic School “Defensores del Chaco”.

197 198 AWARENESS RAISING AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

International Labour Office

COLLECTION of Good Practices and Lessons Learned related to the prevention and elimination of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of girls, boys and adolescents

Financed by the United States Department of Labor

Drawing made in the workshop "We have the right to play" by boys, girls and adolescents of the CEAPRA and School 354 of Ciudad del Este. July 2005.