Men, Women and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents in Four Cities of Brazil

Confronting sexual violence, sexual abuse, sex tourism, and the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents (CSECA) has relied upon efforts from civil society and the Brazilian state alike in order to make the goal of children’s and adolescents’ rights a reality.

The phenomenon of CSECA involves cultural, social, economic, political, and legal factors. Aspects related to subjectivity, culture, values, norms and social representation connect CSECA to other, wider-reaching aspects of social life. Recognizing such social determinants’ influences on practical culture and values becomes an important step toward social mobilization against CSECA.

To promote further understanding of the practices and factors associated with CSECA, Equimundo, with the support of Oak Foundation, carried out a qualitative and quantitative study to map and understand men and women’s perceptions of CSECA in four Brazilian cities, seeking to understand to what extent the attitudes of men and women contribute to its perpetuation.