The Politics of Prostitution in Brazil: Between “state neutrality” and “feminist troubles” By Sonia Corrêa and José Miguel Nieto Olivar 1 The early debates As in many other places around the world, discussions about prostitution 2 in Brazil intersected with political debates regarding the abolition of slavery in 1888. 1 Christina Pereira (2005) observes that when European medical doctors visiting Brazil around 1840, and began studying prostitution with their local partners around, a large majority of the prostitutes were black slaves. Venereal diseases, particularly syphilis, were associated with prostitution and both were interpreted as symptoms of social degradation resulting from slavery. During this time, state proposals regarding prostitution were inevitably mired in the complex political spirals of the growing anti-slavery struggles. The call for abolition of slavery and prostitution was deployed as a modernizing and civilizing proposition: to abolish slavery and prostitution was to promote social and political progress. For instance, in the 1870s when anti-slavery sentiments were at a peak, Miguel Tavares, a police sheriff in Rio de Janeiro, “liberated” around 200 slaves who were engaged in prostitution. Though this episode is remarkable, state intervention did not shift towards the abolition of prostitution, nor was the so-called French model of regulation adopted. This model prescribed the definition of restricted zones for the exercise of commercial sex (red light districts) and systematic public health intervention to prevent venereal diseases among prostitutes as a way to protect spouses and families. A number of factors explain the reluctance of the Brazilian elites to accept the French model, which would project the image of the state becoming a “master” of the prostitutes. Such a move would have been politically unacceptable in light of the calls for abolition of slavery (Pereira 2005). Liberal repudiation of state regulation of private life might have also played a role in this unusual policy restraint. On the other hand, since prostitution was seen as a “necessary evil” in the eyes of the male elites, its abolition would have negative impacts on male sexual behaviour and family structure. Even after slavery was abolished in 1888 and the Republic established a year later, the Brazilian state neither adopted the French model – as happened in Argentina, 1 1 A key partner in this exercise was Adriana Piscitelli, an Argentinean anthropologist who lives in Brazil and teaches at the Federal University of Campinas and is recognized as one of the leading researchers on matters related to sex tourism, prostitution and trafficking in Brazil. We also thank all women who graciously made time in their busy agendas to be interviewed. In the feminist and lesbian communities: Betânia Ávila (SOS Corpo), Claudette Costa (Liga Brasileira de Lésbicas), Elisiane Pasini (THEMIS), Jacira Mello (Instituto Patrícia Galvão), Heliana Hemetério (Grupo Arco Iris), Rosângela Castro (Grupo Felipa de Souza), Valéria Pandjiarjian (CLADEM, Brasil). In the sex work community: Friederick Strack (Advisor to the Brazilian Network of Prostitutes); Gabriela Leite (DAVIDA and Brazilian Network of Prostitutes), Janaína Lima (Grupo Identidade), Nilce Machado (Núcleo de Estudos da Prostituição), “Laura” prostitute who works in the central area of Porto Alegre. 2 The terms ‘prostitution’ and ‘sex work’, ‘prostitute’ and ‘sex worker’ have been used interchangeably in this chapter, though the term ‘prostitute’ is more widely used in Brazil.