Brazil child labor and violence prevention initiatives

The Secretariat of Social Assistance and Citizenship (SAS) has initiated a multi-faceted effort to combat child labor and rights violations through public awareness and professional training.

The effort began with the launch of the ‘Infância sem Correntes’ (Childhood without Chains) campaign. This initiative seeks to mobilize civil society and commerce to increase awareness and reporting of child labor. Key features include the ‘Espaço Amigo da Infância’ seal for partner businesses and the integration of reporting tools via the +CG mobile application and the 156 telephone service.

Following the campaign launch, the focus expanded to professional capacity building. The SAS organized the ‘Strategic Actions of APETI’ training program, providing specialized instruction for social assistance managers, coordinators, and technicians. This training focuses on legal frameworks and identification flows to ensure rapid identification and social protection for vulnerable children. Concurrently, the Specialized Social Approach Service (Seas) has been conducting street-level awareness campaigns.

Expanding on these capacity-building efforts, the Government School of Campo Grande (EGOV) launched a specialized training program titled ‘Escuta Especializada nas Políticas de Assistência Social e Saúde’ (Specialized Listening in Social Assistance and Health Policies). This 40-hour course, consisting of both online and in-person sessions, aims to train 80 municipal employees from the Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance (SAS) and the Municipal Secretariat of Health (Sesau). The curriculum focuses on ethical and humanized care, specifically teaching professionals to distinguish between specialized listening and special testimony to prevent the re-victimization of children and adolescents who are victims or witnesses of violence.