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Brazil is one of the first nations to take part in Save the Children’s campaign to eradicate physical punishment as a way to discipline children in Latin America. The latest step of this long journey was taken at a recent press conference at the headquarters of the Brazilian Attorneys' Association in Rio de Janeiro. "The only way to end the vicious circle of violence on this continent is to start from the bottom up. Where the children are. There is no other way," says Denise Stuckenbruck, programme coordinator for Save the Children Sweden in Latin America. Save the Children Sweden has brought together several national organizations and some of Brazil’s most influential people in a campaign that will reach the entire nation with its 186 million inhabitants. One of the best known personalities in the campaign is the highly popular television star Maria da Graça “Xuxa” Meneghel. Xuxa has been presenting her own show for children for twenty years on the country’s leading television network, Rede Globo. "Many of my fans from way back are soon going to be parents themselves. I’m sure that I can reach them. I’m sure that they will listen to me. Together we can change people’s attitudes," says show host Xuxa, 43 years old. She herself is a mother of a seven-year-old girl, Sasha. "I am fully aware that I will always make mistakes as a mother. It’s a hard job trying to be perfect. But I never have and I never will hit her. I would like that to be a guideline for all Brazilians. Imagine if more people could proudly say today “I have never hit my child”, Xuxa says. Also participating in the campaign is the Rede Globo network that produces Brazil’s popular “telenovelas”, soap operas that spellbind Brazilians during eight months. Sometimes, up to 90 per cent of the television audience may watch and follow the daily episodes. In each serial drama, the program directors try to approach a hot social question. Physical punishment in the family is such a widespread problem in Brazil that it could easily work as the main topic for a forthcoming soap opera, says said Luis Erlanger, Rede Globo’s Communications Director. Save the Children’s overarching campaign goal in Brazil is to make the issue a subject of discussion among the general public and then approach Brazilian politicians. A proposed bill for prohibiting physical punishment in the family was earlier thwarted by a conservative group in Brazil’s congress. This time, mobilisation will be stronger and broader. "We want to get as many people as possible together for this campaign. According to a survey by the Brazilian NGO Promundo, it is more than common that Brazilians use violence to punish their children. In one slum area in northern Rio de Janeiro last month 77 per cent of parents, hit their child with a cuff, a slap or a blow. Further information
That will give us the biggest chance to find ways of protecting our children," says Denise Stuckenbruck, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro.