Sex workers in Brazil - Essay Example

Sex Workers in Brazil Introduction Sex workers (or prostitutes) engage in sexual activities in exchange of money (orprostitution) (Jenness 19). In Brazil, the act of adult prostitution is legal, since no laws exist explicitly against it. However, what is prohibited is the operating of brothels or employing prostitutes to work in ways other than their own initiative. Prostitutes in Brazil operate from harbors, hotels, night clubs, bars, gold-prospecting places and the streets, with the environments ranging from irregular schedules to inside automobiles and closed places to open air.

This often exposes them to social discrimination, bad weather, street violence and even death. This paper will discuss projects that have taken place in Brazil to highlight the sex workers’ position in Brazil, the pros and cons of prostitution and the global perspective on how prostitutes relate to development. Campaigns to formalize prostitution have been vocal in modern times. In 1987, a national sex workers’ conference was held in Brazil, which saw the establishment of the Da Vida or as it is known in English, the National Network of Prostitutes.

The network has represented Brazil in other consequent conferences including the Yokohama 1994 AIDS conference in Japan and the 1997 California international prostitution conference in the United States. On June 7, 2013, the movements of prostitute and sanitary reform in Brazil, which were responsible for the creation of the Unified Health System, released a statement portraying their common interests in the dialogue process. The prostitute movement argues that in the same way health was transformed into a state obligation and a right for every citizen, without privileges and prejudices, so should prostitution.

They opine that prostitution should be oriented by the same principles of community participation, decentralization, integrality, equality and universality as health. Projects in Brazil Highlighting the Position of Sex Workers In the 1990s, the Prostitution and Civil Rights Program sponsored the Brazilian Prostitute’s Network and fought against violence and stigma against sex workers. This was in a bid to make civil rights more accessible to them, promote self-determination and build self-esteem.

In conjunction with the then Ministry of Health, the program produced materials to prevent the spread of AIDS and sexually transmitted infections under its Health Education Project (Jenness 38). The project recruited transvestites and prostitutes to distribute the materials among their different prostitution areas through their networks of contacts in Rio de Janeiro. The recruits received training (although informal) and soon became health agents in their communities, promoting the project and handing out free educational materials on AIDS and free condoms.

This gesture demonstrated the authorities’ acceptance of the sex workers’ trade and their intention to protect their health, as the sex workers also opened their doors to the initiatives. Early this year, the Brazilian Network of Prostitutes worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Health’s Department of STD/AIDS to develop a campaign on the prevention of HIV by sex workers to be used on June 2nd (International Prostitutes Day). This showed the ministry’s readiness to work with the network.

However, in a twist of events, the government made some alterations to the contents of the campaigns, which sparked off the protests that led to the release of the statement by the network. Context of the Prostitution Debate based on Miss HIV The core argument brought out by Miss HIV is why there seems to be no solid end to HIV/AIDS in the foreseeable future. This is in spite of the billions of dollars spent annually on cure and prevention, yet millions of people are still dying from HIV/AIDS related complications, which are curable.

The producers of the film point an accusing finger at all the groups lobbying for casual sex through a misconceived ideology of human rights (Miss HIV 1). Sex work has its pros and cons. Among the disadvantages is that it dehumanizes the workers and robs them of their dignity. For those who get infected with HIV/AIDS, they have to live with stigma as well. However, Miss HIV encourages positive attitude by showing infected women taking part in stigma-free beauty contests in Botswana, and college students remaining abstinent in Uganda, which most Ugandan men would ridicule.

Although sex workers claim they earn their livelihoods from the trade, their bodies are abused in public. Others argue that if the trade is properly recognized by law, governments can earn revenue from it like any other business (Phoenix 29). Relation between a Sex Worker and Global Development On the global perspective, it has been shown that global warming will drive socioeconomically limited and food insecure women into prostitution and risks of STIs, HIV and unplanned pregnancies (Phoenix 46).

Additional pressure will especially be felt by female farmers among the marginalized groups such as sexual minorities and refugees. On the other hand, sexual workers may have a significant but seasonal impact on a regions economic development. For example, during a global event such as the FIFA World Cup or Olympics, there is always an influx of tourists who are ready to spend money on the sex workers. Reports have shown that sex workers in Brazil are already taking English lessons in anticipation of 40,000 tourists expected for the two-week World Cup qualifier matches within the next month.

Further, 140,000 are expected for the main tournament next year. Works Cited Jenness, V. Making it Work: The Prostitutes 'Rights Movement in Perspective. New York: Aldine, 2003. Print. Miss HIV. Dir. Jim Hanon. Ethnographic Media, , 2008, Web. Phoenix, J. Making Sense of Prostitution. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001. Print.