According to United Nations and the Helesnki Federation of Human Rights,some 75,000 Brazilian women have been forced and coerced into sexual trafficking and slavery in the European Union. The UN ranks Brazil as the largest contributor to the sex trade in South America. The trafficking of persons, in particular sex trafficking, is the “third most profitable activity for organized crime” with billion dollar profits made each year at the expense of more than 4 million girls and women who are coerced, bought and sold into marriage, prostitution and slavery.
Women living in Brazil not only face the ever-present threat of abduction and coercion into the global sex trade, but also poor prenatal care. The American Congress on Perinatology in Rio de Janeiro report that at least 6,000 women die annually due to pregnancy related complications. Although 91% of women who live in Rio’s urban areas report that they received prenatal care, 50% of whom never received a pelvic examination and 10% of pregnant women did not have their blood pressure checked.
