Identidades in English No 4, December 2014 | Page 42

Figure 4. Source: Se conecta, 2014.
So, why does this type of advertising continue if
the government and NGOs are striving to fight
sex tourism and the sexual exploitation of minors? Official entities and private companies associate themselves with sexual services explicitly
or not. For the 2014 World Cup, even the President, Dilma Rouseff, wrote on her Twitter account (on February 25, 2014):
“Brazil is happy to receive the tourists who come
for the World Cup, but it’s also ready to combat
sex tourism during this Cup of Cups.
The government will increase its efforts to prevent the sexual exploitation of minors and adolescents during Carnival and the World Cup.
The Tourism Ministry and Secretaries for
Women’s Policies and Human Rights are firm in
their fight against sexual exploitation during Carnival and the World Cup. It is possible to denounce the sexual exploitation of children and
adolescents by dialing 100 on the phone.”
The President was very insistent in this announcement about the World Cup.
It was an attempt to put a positive spin on the
event, to express satisfaction with it, but also the

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government’s concern about sex tourism. Meanwhile, three investigations carried out during the
month in which the World Cup took place revealed the dissatisfaction of Brazilians.7 Sexual
exploitation of minors was not detained; even in
the area around the Castelão Arena, in Fortaleza,
garotas de programa (young sex workers of all
ages)8 worked all day (Pavarini, 2014). Unlike
what the President said, this exploitation was not
combated, and government intervention was insufficient.
In an attempt to solve the problem, the President
promulgated a symbolic law in May 2014 that
deemed “heinous crimes” the sexual exploitation
and the acceptance or sup