Brazil's Human Rights

        Human rights in Brazil are legally protected by the Brazilian Constitution, statutes and laws. However, there are serious issues in regard to human rights abuses. Brazil had a remarkably poor record during the dictatorship of the 1960s, and still has many problems today. These include the use of police brutality, torture and summary executions by civil and military police and prison authorities. Slavery persists against the excluded persons. The federal government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, however, there continued to be numerous, serious abuses, and the records of several state governments were poor. 

       Slavery may seem like a quaint notion in a 21st century world, but that distinction is lost on up to 40,000 Brazilians who find themselves toiling for no real wages and can't leave the distant work camps where they live. Brazilian government officials and human rights activists call it slave labor, a condition they are aggressively trying to eradicate. Brazil has a sad record of domestic violence, both against children and women. The main causes of domestic violence are agreed to be alcohol addiction or drug use, but low literacy, social tension and poverty also play an important role in it. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a new law on Domestic and Family Violence against Women on 7 August 2006 in Brasília. The law is the result of an extensive process of consultation and discussion, in which key women's organizations played a crucial role. The process was promoted by the State Secretariat of Policies for Women and supported by UNIFEM.

Prisons are overcrowded and unhealthy, and prison rape is not uncommon. There are over 400,000 inmates in the system. Beatings, torture and killings by prison guards occur throughout the system. Children are abused in the juvenile justice system. According to the Ministry of Justice, 13,489 teenagers are in detention. Prison overcrowding results in a prominent occurrence of prison violence and murder as well as frequent revolts and escapes. To deal with these problems, prison administrations often divide prison populations according to gang affiliation. Police violence is one of the most internationally recognized human rights abuses in Brazil. The problem of urban violence focuses on the perpetual struggle between police and residents of high crime favelas such as the areas portrayed in City of God. Police response in many parts of Brazil is extremely violent, including summary execution and torture of suspects.