Brazil
Free the Slaves (FTS) is working in Brazil to address modern slavery through Policy and Institutional Advocacy, Community Engagement, Movement Building, and Training and Capacity Building.
In the past, FTS operated a multi-year program in Brazil from 2009 to 2016, collaborating with partners such as the Comissão Pastoral da Terra and Repórter Brasil to combat forced labor in rural areas. The program helped vulnerable workers recognize deceptive recruitment, connect with labor inspectors, and access government services. It also contributed to key policy gains, including strengthening the “dirty list” of exploitative employers and supporting the 2016 constitutional amendment allowing expropriation of land used for forced labor.
People trapped in forms of modern slavery
Per 1000 People
Brazil was the last country in Latin America and the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, formally ending the practice on 13 May 1888 with the signing of the Lei Áurea (Golden Law). While that law ended legal slavery, its legacy continues to shape patterns of inequality and labor exploitation today. Brazil is an alliance 8.7 pioneer country with innovative approaches to address modern slavery. Through specialized labor inspection teams and accountability mechanisms, authorities have helped free approximately 66,000 people from conditions analogous to modern slavery over the past 30 years. However, exploitation persists. The 2025 U.S. Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report identified ongoing challenges in victim identification, access to protection services, interagency coordination, and consistent prosecution.
The 2023 Global Slavery Index estimates 1,053,000 people in Brazil were living in modern slavery in 2021 (about 5.0 per 1,000), including forced labor and forced marriage. Exploitation is most frequently found in agriculture and cattle ranching, construction, garment production, and mining, often driven by deceptive recruitment and debt bondage. Migrants, Afro-Brazilian rural workers, and children face heightened risks.
Brazil’s legal and policy framework includes Law 13.344/2016, which expanded the definition of trafficking beyond sexual exploitation, and a set of operational tools such as the public “Dirty List” of employers linked to modern slavery. Still, uneven implementation across states and inconsistent resourcing for inspections and victim assistance limit its impact. Stronger enforcement, survivor-centered services, and sustained political commitment are essential to ensure protections reach the people at greater risk to be affected by this crime.
Year FTS started working in Brazil
In Brazil, Free the Slaves worked to tackle the multifaceted challenges of modern slavery. Our projects were designed to address immediate issues as well as build long-term resilience against the threats of forced labor, human trafficking and other forms of modern slavery. Below, we spotlight our past projects showcasing our comprehensive approach in Brazil.
Projects in Brazil 2009 – 2016
Free the Slaves’ Brazil project pioneered a model that tackled forced labor from multiple angles, community prevention, survivor support, and market accountability. The initiative linked grassroots activists and community leaders with law enforcement to identify exploitation and trigger action, while also strengthening private-sector responsibility through the National Pact Against Slave Labor, a multi-stakeholder partnership that encouraged major companies to cut ties with suppliers connected to modern slavery. Together, these efforts contributed to the liberation of more than 43,000 people from modern slavery.
At the community level, the project trained and mobilized local leaders through Escravo, Nem Pensar! to recognize risk, prevent recruitment into exploitation, and respond safely when abuse was suspected. Survivor assistance was delivered with Comissão Pastoral da Terra (CPT) through a “safe harbor” network operating across all 26 states, with focused support in the Amazon region. Survivors received psychosocial counseling, medical care, job skills support, and legal assistance to pursue justice. CPT also helped channel survivor and community reports to Brazil’s Mobile Inspection Squad, supporting investigations, rescues, and accountability measures, including the use of Brazil’s public registry of employers linked to modern slavery (“Dirty List”).
Local Partner
FTS Strategy for Brazil
Policy and Advocacy
Free the Slaves advocated for faster prosecutions and final convictions so traffickers faced meaningful consequences rather than administrative fines. We promoted the adoption of a mandatory corporate human rights due diligence law, aligned with international standards, to strengthen corporate accountability and supply-chain transparency. In addition, we pushed for the development and launch of a new National Action Plan to provide clear strategic direction and improve coordination at both federal and state levels.
Partnerships and Services
Free the Slaves strengthened referral networks so rescued victims can access essential services, including shelter, legal aid, health care, and social reintegration support. We partnered with NGOs, survivor-led groups, and government agencies to improve prevention and protection infrastructure and strengthen post-rescue assistance. We collaborated with companies in high-risk sectors, including agriculture, cattle ranching, construction, garment production, and mining, to identify, mitigate, and prevent exploitation in their operations and supply chains.
Training and Capacity Building
Free the Slaves provided specialized training for labor inspectors, prosecutors, police, and other frontline actors on victim-centered approaches, evidence gathering, and the proactive identification of trafficking cases. We also introduced and adapted tools like the Community Liberation Initiative to build local capacity and strengthen resilience in communities most affected by forced labor.
Movement Building
Free the Slaves facilitated multi-stakeholder spaces that brought civil society, survivor advocates, private-sector actors, and government agencies together to share practices, coordinate actions, and align strategies. We also strengthened Brazil’s role as a regional leader on corporate due diligence, supply chain transparency, and prevention, linking national initiatives to regional and global platforms such as Alliance 8.7. Across this work, we elevated the visibility and voice of survivors and affected communities, ensuring they remain at the center of decision-making processes.
Brazil’s Legal Framework on Modern Slavery
Constitution of Brazil — Article 7, Item XXXIII Prohibits night, dangerous, or unhealthy work for persons under 18 years and sets the minimum age of employment at 16 (except as apprentice from age 14). (https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm)
Statute of the Child and Adolescent (Law No. 8.069/1990)
Establishes comprehensive protections for children and adolescents, including prohibitions on economic exploitation and guarantees of education and protection from hazardous labor. (https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/L8069.htm)
National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of Adolescent Workers (2019–2022) Defines inter-ministerial strategies to prevent child labor, enhance inspection systems, and expand social programs supporting vulnerable families. (https://www.gov.br/planejamento/pt-br/assuntos/planejamento/plano-plurianual/arquivos/relatorios-planejamento-nacional/ingles-18122024-agenda-transversal-criancas-e-adolescentes-ppa-2024-27_eng-vf.pdf)
Penal Code (Decree-Law No. 2.848/1940), Article 149. Criminalizes reducing someone to a condition analogous to slavery (redução à condição análoga à de escravo), including by subjecting them to forced labor, exhausting workdays, degrading working conditions, or restrictions of movement. (https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto-lei/del2848.htm)
Federal Constitution (Article 5, III)
Declares that ‘no one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment,’ reinforcing constitutional protection against forced or in modern slavery conditions. (https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm)
Penal Code (as amended by Law No. 13.344/2016) — Article 149-A Criminalizes human trafficking for the purpose of exploitation in forced labor, servitude, sexual exploitation, removal of organs, or illegal adoption. (https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2016/lei/l13344.htm)
National Policy to Combat Trafficking in Persons: Defines prevention, prosecution, and victim assistance mechanisms through successive National Plans (most recently 2022–2026).
(https://www.gov.br/mj/pt-br/assuntos/sua-protecao/trafico-de-pessoas/IV%20PNETP/IVPNETP)
Brazil was the last country in Latin America and the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, formally ending the practice on 13 May 1888 with the signing of the Lei Áurea (Golden Law) (https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/lim/lim3353.htm)
FTS Staff for Brazil
Cinthia Belbussi
Latin America Regional Manager/ Directora Regional para América Latina