A large portion of the Brazilian women deported from or refused permission to enter Europe are victims of international human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation.
This is one of the findings of a pioneer study entitled "Evidence of human trafficking in the universe of women who were deported from or refused permission to enter Europe and returned to Brazil via the Guarulhos airport," released in Brazil in April.
The study was conducted in March and April, 2005, in the Guarulhos international airport in São Paulo. In the universe of 175 women who responded to questionnaires and 15 who conceded interviews, 76% were refused entry in the countries to which they traveled.
The country that denied entry to the largest number of Brazilian women was Portugal, followed by Italy, France, Spain, and England.
The study also collected details on the women who were sent back. Most of them came from poor families and had monthly earnings of less than three minimum wages (US$ 471). Most of them were in the 25-40 age group and from the states of Goiás, Paraná, and Minas Gerais.
In terms of schooling, the study shows that 57.7% either concluded or at least began secondary education and 19.4% either concluded or began higher education.
In 2004, according to the Federal Police, around 22.5 thousand Brazilians were either deported from or refused entry abroad. Of this total, 15 thousand passed through the Guarulhos airport on their return to Brazil, and around 33% were women.
The study was contracted by the National Secretariat of Justice and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Agência Brasil