In Brazil, forced labor (FL) cases are often concentrated in rural areas and the northern state of Pará had the highest annual average of FL victims across all industries from 1995 to 2020, according to official statistics. Most commonly, FL victims are recruited from poorer neighboring states by “gatos” or employers and moved to remote locations where they are immobilized and subjected to poor working conditions and debt bondage—one of the most common types of forced labor mechanisms in Brazil. In Pará, ABA ROLI is responding to these complex forced labor cases, specifically in the labor intense industry of cattle ranching.
Combating Forced Labor in Pará, Brazil
In partnership with the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), ABA ROLI is supporting the implementation of the program Combatting Forced Labor in the Cattle Sector in Pará, Brazil. This program is focused on the cattle industry, where there is a high annual average of labor trafficking victims, often concentrated in rural areas.
This program carries out activities to strengthen the investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of cases involving forced labor in the cattle industry's supply chain in the state of Pará, while raising awareness of the issue and building capacity of the justice sector. The program team offers specialized training to justice system institutions to increase the number of systematized, victim-centered investigations and prosecutions of forced labor by law enforcement, prosecutors, and public defenders. The victim-centered component of the program works to promote access to justice and support forced labor survivors, as well as reduce the prevalence of forced labor in the region.