This journal article tackles the insufficient work done by PESTRAF, the study of sex trafficking of women, children, and adolescents in Brazil. The author takes a strong stance against the work of PESTRAF claiming that their studies are insufficient and aren’t gathering enough actual research of the actual trafficking done on Brazil. The author acknowledges that trafficking in Brazil is difficult to do research on due to the fact that sex work is legal in Brazil, however, asserts that there is a large difference between consensual sex work and the exploitation and trafficking of women into sex work. The article serves as an important critique of the work of PESTRAF and enforces the notion that the studies done by PESTRAF are biased and give insufficient data.
The author uses a very refreshing voice in this critique and isn’t afraid to hold back at all, using explicit language to express her frustration as demonstrated in the article’s title. The intended audience of this article is people that have read about PESTRAF or want to learn more about the difference between sex trafficking in Brazil and the legal sex work that also takes place. The author also makes a note that this article is specifically written in English, not Portuguese the language spoken in Brazil, because it was directed towards the English version of PESTRAF.
This article was very helpful in understanding the misconceptions around the legal sex work that occurs in Brazil and the exploitation of women, children, and adolescents when it comes to actual sex trafficking and the violation of their rights. The article also is very interesting in contesting the work of PESTRAF and supporting it with evidence of their own. This article would be very useful for anyone trying to understand the differences between sex work and trafficking and how both exist within Brazil. It would also definitely be a good article to conduct future research on within the sex trafficking topic.
Human Rights in Latin America 