Blue Heart Campaign committee is launched in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco

Ipojuca, 25 March 2014 - The first committee of the Blue Heart campaign in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco was launched last Wednesday, 19 March, in the city of Ipojuca.

Around 360 people, including representatives of governmental agencies, citizens and members of civil society organizations attended the launch, which presented discussions about the reality of human trafficking in the country, as well as strategies for fighting, preventing and disseminating information about this crime.

Participants included Ipojuca's Special Secretary for Women , Dora Pires; the city's first lady, Simone Santana; the Coordinator of the Blue Heart Campaign of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Brazil, Carina Rabelo; and the Director of the Department of Justice, Rating, Titles and Qualification of the National Secretariat of Justice, Fernanda dos Anjos.

According to the Department of Social Defense of the Government of Pernambuco, the city of Ipojuca, where the tourist beach of Porto de Galinhas is located, is a hub for trafficking of women and children in the state.

The UNODC Blue Heart Campaign is carried out in Brazil in partnership with the Ministry of Justice in order to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, both domestic and transnational. During the event, the history of the implementation of the campaign in Brazil since its launch in May 2013 was presented.

The audience also received pins with the campaign symbol, the Blue Heart. In addition, they were all invited to like the Blue Heart Campaign page on Facebook, collaborate by reporting the crime through the Dial 100 or Call 180 numbers, and join the national campaign by alerting neighbors, friends and relatives about trafficking in persons.

To discuss the trafficking of women and sex tourism in the region, other participants in the event included the Coordinator of the Center for Combating Trafficking in Persons of the State Government, Jeanne Aguiar; the Communication Advisor of the Federal Police in Pernambuco, Giovane Santoro; the representative of the Department of Child and Adolescent Police, Gizele Pereira; and the Commander of the Highway Police, Erika Melcop. The ceremony to create the Committee also included the signing of a decree establishing san auditor's office for women in Ipojuca.

Related information:

Blue Heart Campaign page on Facebook

Blue Heart Campaign on Twitter

Campaign materials

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