Down to Zero/ Building Back Better - Brazil Summary: 

SUMMARY
The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the sexual exploitation of children (SEC) in the Brazil. To strengthen child protection systems and mechanisms, and build back better from the aftermath of Covid-19, the Down to Zero alliance will implement the Building Back Better programme. It is implemented by Plan International and DCI ECPAT and we will work with children and youth, parents and community leaders, actors in the child protection system and businesses. We will push for specialized services for victims and will support children, youth mobilizers and families by raising awareness, improving life skills and increasing economic resilience. The programme will help ensure that reporting, referral and coordination happens safely and effectively and that services are gender sensitive. This activity forms part of the Building Back Better (BBB)  in times of Covid-19, Fighting SEC on the Rise programme. The programme will work in 12 countries in Latin America and South and South East Asia: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, and the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The selected countries have particular high risks of SEC as well as compromised capacity of the child protection system. Root causes are lack of livelihood causing poverty, community norms and values with regard to gender and sexual exploitation of children and youth, particularly girls, increasing tourism and ICT's. 
They are highly affected by the Covid-19 related trends, with the impact of travel and tourism being an integral part of their context. The programme will also address cross-border SEC such as along the Colombia Peru, Brazil-Bolivia-Peru and India-Nepal-Bangladesh borders. The overall impact of the program is that  children and youth are better protected when at risk or victim of sexual exploitation, during and in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are 5 outcome areas defined in our Result Framework.  

1. Children (in particular victims and those at risk of SEC) are able to access specialized services that protect them, help them rehabilitate, reintegrate and reduce their vulnerability to SEC in the context of Covid-19
2 Children and youth are able to advocate for continued SEC prevention and response in the context of Covid-19
3 Parents, caregivers, and community leaders are strengthened to provide a protective shield around children against SEC, in the context of Covid-19
4 Actors in the Child Protection System are strengthened in multi-stakeholder settings to prevent and advocate for protection from SEC, in the context of Covid-19
5 Intergovernmental bodies at regional and international level, governments and the private sector prioritize SEC within the wider child protection agenda in building back better during and in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic The Building Back Better programme in Brazil builds on the results of the previous DtZ program (2016-2020). The main area of implementation is the State of Bahia, with high incidence of SEC. 

Focus is on working with youth mobilisers and leadership to promote rights awareness against SEC. At community level, parents and schools are reached though workshops and trainings. Another important element in the program is promoting life skills and economic opportunities as the livelihoods of families is heavily affected by the pandemic, causing even greater vulnerability on children and their families. Lastly, collaboration with key child protection system actors (locally based) is based on promoting child protection, by influencing local action plans in time of the pandemic, promoting better intersectoral collaboration and working with boys. The key target group (and final beneficiaries) of the programme are girls and boys up to 18 years old, who are victims and survivors and those at risk of SEC. We will mostly work with them through children and youth groups. Outcome area 2
Adolescents and youth know SEC and their rights: 
•	250 girls and 50 boys will receive training on social mobilization  

Youth act as agents of change in prevention and response to SEC. 
•	Support girls to promote youth leadership in the form of 18 sessions of accompaniment to develop plans (6 in total). 
•	Development of a complementary module on online safety for children, adolescents and youth for the prevention and care of victims and survivors of SEC
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Outcome area 3: 
Increased knowledge about SEC by community members to protect adolescents and youth during Covid-19
•	100 professionals from education, health and social care for the intersectoral response to the crisis and the post-pandemic context.
•	Strengthen the capacities of workers in the rights guarantee system to provide assistance taking into account the specificities of sexual exploitation of boys.

Increased economic resilience for families and their children
•	300 girls and young people are mobilised to participate in vocational training groups
•	8 partnerships with companies for the insertion of young women in apprenticeship, internship and first job programmes
•	7 tailor-made courses for the insertion of young people into the world of work in partnership with companies
•	5 companies that generate revenue by providing seed capital and mentorship
•	30 women receive guidance for their businesses

Outcome area 4
Child Protection System actors are strengthened in multi-stakeholder environments to prevent and defend SEC, in the context of Covid-19
•	Support for the development of 4 action plans by local institutions that address issues related to the protection of adolescent children in the context of the post-pandemic. Capacity strengthening: The programme strengthens CPS (at national and community levels) to deliver positive lasting change for children at risk or victims of SEC and their families, beyond the programme’s lifetime. Strengthening the agency of children, parents and community child protection committees will last beyond the programme as well. 

Policy and practice change: The programme works towards institutional monitoring, referral and coordination mechanisms across stakeholders, e.g. by developing National Action Plans to which partners commit. It further aims for policy change and implementation. Businesses adhering to The Code will do so beyond the duration of the programme. 

Social change: The programme contributes to dismantling the culture of silence and impunity surrounding SEC and promotes attitude change among communities and stakeholders in support of zero tolerance for SEC. Instilling new social norms around preventing and eradicating SEC, including deeply entrenched taboos around boys and SEC, will create an environment in which children, their families and communities oppose to and stand up against SEC.