Pulitzer Supported Reporting Spurs Brazilian Police Investigation Into Abuse of Indigenous Children

AUGUST 7, 2023

Country:
Brazil

Below is an English summary of an impact update, originally published in O Joio e O Trigo . The full text in Portuguese follows.

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) of Amazonas state in Brazil announced it would launch an investigation into the abuse of Indigenous Jamamadi children, following reporting by Pulitzer Center Rainforest Journalism Fund grantee Tatiana Merlino .

Her story, " Bolsonaro Government Ignored Suspected Sexual Violence Against Indigenous Girls With HPV ," reveals that at least three Jamamadi girls were diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV) between 2019 and 2021. The cases, an indication of potential sexual violence, were reported to the government-run National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) but were never investigated by the administration of President Jair Bolsonaro. Furthermore, the girls never received adequate treatment.

In addition to a chain of government inaction, Merlino found that FUNAI cited difficulties in working with the Jamamadi community due to the influence of religious missionary Steve Campbell. Campbell, who has visited the Jamamadi people since the 1960s, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by Brazil's Federal Public Ministry for violating the sovereignty rights of Indigenous peoples.

_________

Amazonas prosecutor asked for the opening of a police inquiry to investigate the case of children of the Jamamadi people who may have suffered child sexual abuse

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) of Amazonas requested the opening of an investigation to the Federal Police to investigate suspected sexual violence against three indigenous children of the Jamamadi people, diagnosed with the HPV virus. The request for an investigation followed complaints made in a report by O Joio e O Trigo and Repórter Brasil , published on July 12, in partnership with Diplô and Universa UOL.

The investigation reveals that at least three indigenous girls aged 9 to 12 who live in Lábrea, in southern Amazonas, were diagnosed between 2019 and 2021 with HPV, an indication that the children may have suffered sexual violence. The cases were reported to the regional coordination of the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), then under the command of the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). However, the suspicions were not investigated, nor were the children properly treated.

More:
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/pulitzer-supported-reporting-spurs-brazilian-police-investigation-abuse-indigenous-children