Bolsonaro Government Ignored Suspected Sexual Violence Against Indigenous Girls With HPV (Portuguese)

Cases were not investigated by the Brazilian government agency FUNAI, nor by agencies responsible for the protection of children and adolescents; officials point out difficulties to act in Jamamadi villages because of the work of religious missionary Steve Campbell.

At least three Indigenous girls aged 9 to 12 from the Jamamadi people living in Lábrea, in southern Amazonas, were diagnosed between 2019 and 2021 with the human papillomavirus (HPV), an indication that the children may have suffered sexual violence.

The cases were reported to the regional coordination of FUNAI (National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples), then under the command of the government of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), but the suspicions were not investigated, nor did the children receive proper treatment.

HPV is sexually transmitted and highly contagious. In women, it is the main cause of cervical cancer. In older children, sexual contact is the most likely way of contamination.

In the case of the three Jamamadi girls, all had lesions inside the mouth compatible with HPV infection, according to medical reports and documents obtained by O Joio e O Trigo and Repórter Brasil.

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In one of them, there were also other signs of sexual violence. "Transvaginal secretion was found that characterizes another STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease)," according to a 2019 report signed by a doctor from the UBS of Lábrea, regarding an 11-year-old Jamamadi girl.