Shine-A-Light




		Program against sexual violence When Shine-a-light staff ask street educators or NGO directors about their most pressing concerns, they almost always talk about sexual violence. Many children run away from home because they are sexually abused by their families. Rape is a common crime on the street. Both girls and boys resort to prostitution to survive. And the psychological trauma of sexual violence stands in the way of finding a way off the street. Aldeia Juvenil, an outreach program of the Catholic University of Goiás, Brazil, provides intense psychotherapy for both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence. Working with the most ground-breaking psychoanalytic techniques, an extraordinary intellectual background, and an in-depth knowledge of the dynamics of power and oppression, Aldeia has transformed the lives of victims of sexual abuse. In addition to therapy in the clinic, the program works on the street and in the city’s favelas (shantytowns), using education and political mobilization to undermine the dynamics that lead to sexual abuse and life on the street. Since organizations around Latin America have lamented their inability to help victims of sexual abuse, the Project against Sexual Violence and exploitation leverages Aldeia Juvenil’s expertise into lessons for other programs. Staff at Aldeia Juvenil also teach and publish at the Catholic University, and their courses and books will form the centerpiece of the program. Shine-a-light will publish Aldeia Juvenil’s extensive collection of articles, books, and research on our internet site. Later, we will help Aldeia transform the classes it teaches at the university into a form that can be taught over the worldwide web. Funding for this project is currently pending.