Forum contra o trabalho infantil (Forum against child labor)

The Forum is a collaborative project between the Brasilian government (particularly the Ministry of Justice) and civil society to end child labor. It also works closely with a block in Congress called the “Frente Parliamentaria pelos Dereitos da Criança” and with labor unions and employers. Much of the work of the Forum simply involves seminars and conferences to get all of these diverse interest groups on the same page. Funds come from the government, UNICEF, and the ILO.

The Forum began in the first year of the Cardoso presidency, largely under international pressure. It began its work in Matto Grosso do Sul, with some of the worst and most obvious cases of child labor: kids in charcoal factories. Working with local media, schools, families, employers, and unions, the Forum created what would be a model for the rest of Brasil.

The model works like this: understanding that the income of the children is necessary for their family’s survival, the program pays the children a scholarship to go to school (a small amount by American standards, but a large one for a poor family (US$12 a week)). After discovering that the children would go to school and then work in the afternoon (school is only a half-day in Brasil), the program was expanded to include scholarships for after-school programs. These carrots were backed by various sticks, including punishment of employers.

The program expanded after the city government of Brasilia began a similar project without federal help and shamed the national government into broader application. The program in Bahia state has now become a real model, integrating all levels of civil society and training community leaders.

In each region, the dynamic is different: charcoal factories in Matto Grosso, sugar cane in Pernambuco, street vendors all over the country. Today some 300,000 children across Brasil receive the scholarship -- unfortunately some 3,000,000 work, meaning that much more work must be done.

One of the problems with the program, its director confesses, is political interference. Because Brasil’s Vice President is from Pernambuco, services are inordinantly skewed toward that state, while other states with less influence go without the program entirely. Another issue is that until now, the entire program has been rural, and they would like to apply it to urban areas, where many more poor children live and work. Civil rights laws also make enforcement difficult on private property, where many girls work as domestics and are also exposed to sexual abuse.

Esplanada dos Ministerios
Bloco T Anexo II, Sala 222
Ministério da Justiça
700040-000
Brasília, DF

tel: 61 429 3880 fax 61 429 3172

Contact: Isa Oliveira, Secretária Executiva (forum.nacional@mj.gov.br)