Are women not enslaved in Brazil? A data-driven analysis of gender dynamics in Brazilian antislavery efforts

Abstract

Globally, women and girls make up the majority of recorded and estimated victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. In Brazil, however, females represent only 5% of the more than 35,000 people rescued from forced and slave labour from 2003 to 2018. This paper interrogates data on antislavery efforts in Brazil, to identify and explain the gender dynamics of rescues. It evaluates legal, policy, and contextual factors that may help to explain discrepancies between Brazilian victim demographics and regional and international trends. In doing so, it identifies a key gap in antislavery efforts in Brazil that demands focus on investigating sexual exploitation, domestic work and forced marriage. Centralisation of human trafficking, minor sexual exploitation and forced labour is primordial to address all modern slavery aspects.