Youth, social vulnerability and sexual exploitation: a look from articulation between health and human rights

Abstract

This paper reports experiences of the project "Recreated Routes: Children and adolescents free from sexual exploitation", which brings up, from a social-cultural perspective, ways to face sexual exploitation of children and teenagers in Campinas - SP. With different axis of action, with aspects of inter sector and interdisciplinary approach, the project has as theoretical base the development of some primary actions, with the objective of promoting debate in order to build a public policy for facing this relevant subject. It presents the experience of health intervention, through work with one of the target populations in the project: children and teenagers living on the streets and being sexually exploited. It is based on the needed articulation between health and human rights, since negligence and violation of rights could result in health consequences, in a social-cultural context. It aims to guarantee and respect the rights of this excluded population. It is based in therapeutical follow up as a strategy to attach individual and collective needs, including interventions based on rights promotion and assurance. Reports based on history of life "scenes" were used, targeting the decrease of social vulnerabilities and the full exercise of rights of this population.