Child and Adolescent Rights in Brazil

Abstract

This paper presents a summary of the status of child and adolescent rights in Brazil. It describes the evolution of the legislation, particularly after the implementation of the Child and Adolescent Statute (eca). Analyzed topics include life, identity, health, protection, education, and housing. The violation of child and youth rights is also considered, with an emphasis on child labour, sexual violence, and exploitation. Although much progress has been made in terms of protecting and guaranteeing such rights, Brazil is far from attaining the ideals determined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (crc) and the eca. For this to happen, a culture of respect for child and adolescent rights has to be implemented in Brazil.

Medical confidentiality in underage consent sex in Brazil

“…The Child and Adolescent Statute focused on child and adolescent's rights. With this statute, children and adolescents were no longer considered an object of rights but the subject of them, which changed the image and meaning of infancy and adolescence in Brazil 7 …”

“…With this statute, children and adolescents were no longer considered an object of rights but the subject of them, which changed the image and meaning of infancy and adolescence in Brazil. 7 Statutory rape laws are intended to punish adults who have sex with minors. The assumption behind these laws when they were originally enacted was that only teenagers who exceeded the age of consent could make informed decisions about engaging in sexual behaviour.…”

The Child-specific Right to Adequate Housing in the Convention on the Rights of the Child

“…The emergence and codification of children's rights have resolved into quite a bookshelf of research literature. Some researchers hold that children have a right to adequate housing, but as far as we know, an in-depth analysis of the right to adequate housing in the crc has never been conducted (Veerman, 1992;Bueren, van, 1995;Leary, 1995;Sacco et al, 2015;Francia and Elding, 2020). Nevertheless, researchers take (the right to) housing into account in various ways.…”