Red Light Rio

Interviews 0
“I wish for a much different future for my children”

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? First, I would wish for good health for me and my children. Second, a much different future ...
On January 25, 2018 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “I wish they had a decent place to work”

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? For my personal life… I want to win the lottery. Second, I wish my sister lived closer. ...
On January 22, 2018 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “I wish for health for my son”

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? I would wish for health for my son. I would like a job, so I never needed ...
On January 6, 2018 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “I wish I had a better job”

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? I wish I got a better job. And good health. And happiness. That’s it. ...
On January 6, 2018 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “I would get rid of all the violence here.”

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? What would I change here in Vila Mimosa? I would change life a bit for the girls ...
On January 6, 2018 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“It would be difficult to leave this behind.”

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? What would I wish for? I wish to maintain my good health. And I wish the time…. ...
On January 6, 2018 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “I wish I could have children”

If a genie granted you three wishes, what would you ask for? It could be for yourself, or for Vila Mimosa. Three wishes? First, I wish I could be ...
On November 20, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “A better life for my kids”

Aline asks Vila Mimosa’s resident aesthetician: What do you wish for your future? I wish for a better life for my kids, to give them a good foundation. ...
On November 16, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes: “I hope my daughter never finds out”

What would you do if a genie granted you three wishes? You only get three, so make them count. Three wishes? First, I would find a good man ...
On October 24, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes: Plastic surgery

What would you do if a genie granted you three wishes? If a genie granted me three wishes? Maybe I shouldn’t be asking a genie. I should be ...
On October 16, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “I would buy another house”

What would you do if a genie granted you three wishes? Me? I would get out of here immediately. I would buy another house, because I gave my ...
On October 9, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes “I wish this was a calmer place”

If a genie granted you three wishes, for yourself or for Vila Mimosa, what would you wish for? First, that I am able to finish my house exactly ...
On September 11, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
#3wishes

If a genie granted you three wishes, for yourself or for Vila Mimosa, what would you wish for? First, I wish for a lot of good health for ...
On August 21, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“Make your money and get out of here”

A veteran and a newbie talk about working in Vila Mimosa. The newbie hasn’t told her husband where she’s working. The veteran met her husband here, ten years ...
On August 11, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“We’re people like anyone else”

Aline quer deixar claro para quem ver esse documentário: “A prostituição não é um bicho de sete cabeças… a gente é gente como qualquer um.” Video em português. ...
On July 4, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“How many clients have you had?”

Aline adivinha quantos clientes ela já teve em treze anos trabalhando como garota de programa. Video em português. Aline tries to guess how many clients she’s had in thirteen ...
On June 26, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“Tell me about your boyfriend”

<Mara e Aline conversam sobre o namorado da Mara. Mara pede para ele comprar uma nova portão para a casa que construiu, e diz que um homem tem que ...
On June 12, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“What is your ideal client?”

“Describe your ideal client.” Twelve escorts and one brothel owner agree that the ideal client is one who doesn’t cause any problems. Doze prostitutas e uma dona de casa concordam ...
On May 1, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“What would you change about this place, if you could?”

<Aline pergunta as colegas como mudariam a Vila Mimosa para melhorar e atrair mais clientes. A maioria dizem, “limpeza.” Video em português.> Aline asks her colleagues what they ...
On April 24, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“This is a dying profession”

Carla tem um trailer do lado da Vila Mimosa onde servem garotas de programa, clientes, e residentes do bairro. “Eu amo esse lugar,” diz Carla. Nunca trabalhou como ...
On April 17, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“Tell me about love”

Jaqueline trabalha por varias casas na Vila Mimosa como faxinheira. Nesse video, ela fala das amores que ela ja tive na Vila. Video em português. Jaqueline works as ...
On April 10, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Exit Plans

Paulinha, prostituta ha dez anos na Vila Mimosa que sustenta dois filhos e um neto com seu dinheiro de ca, diz que tem planos para sair. Video em ...
On April 3, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“There is nothing shameful about being a whore”

Fatima, uma dona de casa na Vila Mimosa, diz que”Não é vergonha você ser puta.” Video em português. Fatima, a brothel owner in Vila Mimosa, says, “There is nothing shameful ...
On March 27, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“Money rules the world”

Carla e Elaine tem um trailer do lado da Vila Mimosa onde servem garotas de programa, clientes, e residentes do bairro. “Eu amo esse lugar,” diz Carla. Nenhuma ...
On March 20, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Allies

Carla e Elaine tem um trailer do lado da Vila Mimosa onde servem garotas de programa, clientes, e residentes do bairro. “Eu amo esse lugar,” diz Carla. Nenhuma ...
On March 1, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“I love this place”

Carla e Elaine tem um trailer do lado da Vila Mimosa onde servem garotas de programa, clientes, e residentes do bairro. Nenhuma trabalha como prostituta mas ambas se ...
On February 21, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Friends with Benefits

Nara and Esmeralda talk about their relationship. “She’s someone I can trust,” says Nara. “When I got pregnant, she was the first person I told. But if we ...
On February 13, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“There are days I don’t sleep”

A question about Nara’s work schedule turns into a conversation about drugs: “There are days I don’t sleep.” Next: Watch Nara and Esmeralda talk about what it’s ...
On January 29, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“Vila Mimosa is a necessary evil.”

Essa ė quinta parte de uma entrevista rara com a Graça, presidente da AMOCAVIM e ex-prostituta na Vila Mimosa, sobre orgulho (“eu tenho”) e por que “Vila Mimosa ...
On January 17, 2017 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“I don’t need a man anymore. For anything.”

Essa ė quarta parte de uma entrevista rara com a Graça, presidente da AMOCAVIM e ex-prostituta na Vila Mimosa, sobre seu homem ideal: “Hoje eu nao preciso [de ...
On December 5, 2016 / By jruv
Anthropology 0
Relatório Preliminar: Efeito de Rio2016 na indústria de sexo no Rio de Janeiro

O Observatório da Prostituição publicou pesquisa preliminar sobre o efeito de Rio2016 na indústria de sexo no Rio de Janeiro. Segue embaixo o press release do grupo. Click ...
On December 2, 2016 / By jruv
Anthropology 0
Preliminary report: Impact of Rio2016 on Rio de Janeiro’s sex industry

Rio de Janeiro’s Prostitution Policy Watch has released preliminary data on the impact of the 2016 Summer Olympics on the sex industry in Rio de Janeiro. Below is ...
On December 2, 2016 / By jruv
Anthropology 0
Prostitution Policy Watch Looks at Olympics Impact on Rio’s Sex Industry

This summary of research by Rio de Janeiro’s Prostitution Policy Watch on the impact of World Cup on Rio’s sex industry was written by Alex Besser and published ...
On December 2, 2016 / By jruv
Anthropology 0
Observatório da Prostituição Analisa Impacto das Olimpíadas Sobre Indústria do Sexo

Este resumo da pesquisa do Observatório da Prostituição sobre o efeito da Rio2016 no mercado de sexo no Rio de Janeiro foi escrito por Alex Besser e publicado no ...
On December 2, 2016 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“Figure out how to pay for your autonomy”

Essa ė terceira parte de uma entrevista rara com a Graça, presidente da AMOCAVIM e ex-prostituta na Vila Mimosa. Primeira parte sobre independência; segunda parte sobre regras na Vila. Nessa parte ...
On October 30, 2016 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Rules

Essa ė segunda parte de uma entrevista rara com a Graça, presidente da AMOCAVIM e ex-prostituta na Vila Mimosa. Primeira parte aqui. Video em português. This is the ...
On October 13, 2016 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“Here you can earn your independence.”

“What do you think of prostitution?” “I think it’s a very good thing in life. For people who don’t have a job, who need to support their children.” ...
On September 11, 2016 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Rape: “Ou vai ou morre”

Aline e Indira conversam sobre um estupro em grupo com os traficantes do morro que moravam quando tinham começado de trabalhar na Vila Mimosa. “Ou dava ou morria,” ...
On June 29, 2016 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Indianara: “People say that prostitutes have an expiration date.”

Indianara is a veteran sex worker rights activist in Rio de Janeiro. She spoke at the Observatory of Prostitution‘s extension course, A Particular Revolution: The Brazilian Prostitutes Movement, at the Institute of ...
On February 22, 2016 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Indianara: “It’s more dangerous, in Brazil, to be a wife than a whore.”

Indianara is a veteran sex worker rights activist in Rio de Janeiro. She spoke at the Observatory of Prostitution‘s extension course, A Particular Revolution: The Brazilian Prostitutes Movement, at ...
On February 16, 2016 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Amara: “What is family, inside the travesti universe? What is family for us?”

Amara and Indianara spoke at the Observatory of Prostitution‘s extension course, A Particular Revolution: The Brazilian Prostitutes Movement, at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences at the Federal University of Rio ...
On January 22, 2016 / By jruv
Amara Moira 1
Amara Moira is a post-doc trans whore who wants you to hear this

“My name is Amara Moira, I’m 30 years old, I’m a doctoral candidate at Unicamp. I prostitute myself in Jardim Itatinga. And I recently started a blog.” Amara ...
On January 10, 2016 / By jruv
Greg Mitchell 0
Inside Brazil’s Gay Sex Tourism Industry

Photo: Sauna Meio Mundo in downtown Rio, courtesy of Dr. Gregory Mitchell Brazil has topped the list of top global destinations for gay tourists for almost a decade. ...
On November 30, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Do you consider yourself an independent woman?

I am. In everything. I don’t depend on anyone for anything. I depend on me and my body. That’s it. ...
On November 18, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
What do you think of prostitution?

I don’t think it’s an easy life, like people say. It’s not easy to go to bed with all kinds of people you don’t know. It’s not easy. ...
On November 18, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
How many children do you support?

Aline and Julie ask sex workers, brothel managers and cleaning ladies how many children they support with the money they make working in Rio’s red light district. Every ...
On November 17, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“My life got a little better after I came to the Zona”

Daisy talks about the hardship she endured before she came to Vila Mimosa and started working as a prostitute. “My life got a little better after I came ...
On October 15, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“I think it’s slavery to depend on someone like that”

Aline asks Bruna if she would be in a relationship with a man just for his money. “I think it’s slavery to depend on someone like that,” Bruna ...
On October 12, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 1
Trafficked at 15

Sara talks about how her adopted mom forced her into prostitution at 15 in Vila Mimosa, Rio de Janeiro’s red light district. “She made me and her daughter ...
On October 8, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 1
Child Abuse

Ruby tells Aline she left home as a child to get away from her mother’s abusive boyfriend and started doing sex work. “Seeing as how I’d already lost ...
On October 7, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Aging Out

Aline and Indira talk about what it’s like to be aging out of sex work, and the relationships they’ve formed with long-term clients. “I have clients where I ...
On October 6, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“You like women, right?”

“You like women, right?” Karina, a former sex worker in Rio de Janeiro’s red light district, talks about what it was like as a lesbian to work with ...
On September 23, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Lovers

Nara and Esmeralda talk about what it’s like to be in an open relationship in Vila Mimosa, Rio de Janeiro’s red light district. Nara recently had her second ...
On September 16, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
“I’m the man for everything”

Women in Rio de Janeiro’s low-income red light district talk about how many children they support with their earnings as sex workers, brothel managers and cleaning ladies. “I ...
On September 4, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Naomi

Naomi talks about why she quit working as a manicurist to work as an escort in Vila Mimosa (“The money and the freedom”), what it’s like to work ...
On May 28, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 1
Condoms

One of the questions Aline turned to most often in our interviews with her colleagues and friends in Vila Mimosa was, “What do you think about clients who ...
On April 6, 2015 / By jruv
Gabriela Leite 1
Prostitutes and AIDS

How Brazil’s sex worker rights movement and its Ministry of Health partnered in creating one of the most well-structured and efficient HIV/AIDS prevention programs in the world. This ...
On April 6, 2015 / By jruv
Laura Murray 1
“I’m happy being a prostitute”

POLITICAL PROSTITUTES AND SHAMEFUL POLITICIANS Laura Murray is a filmmaker, activist and PhD student studying sex worker activism and politics in Brazil. In an expansion on her blog post published at akissforgabriela.com, ...
On April 6, 2015 / By jruv
Interviews 0
32 Days of Sex – World Cup through the eyes of a prostitute in Rio (WEEK ONE)

Rio de Janeiro welcomed over 886,000 tourists to town for the 32 days of World Cup this summer. Half a mile from Maracanã Stadium, Vila Mimosa — Rio’s ...
On January 23, 2015 / By jruv
Thaddeus Blanchette 0
Police as pimps

Rio anthropologist Thaddeus Blanchette breaks down one of the unspoken facts of prostitution in Rio: the police work as pimps, and the militia provides “security.” In this video ...
On November 20, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Too dangerous to protect

It’s been almost five months since sex worker Joyce was assaulted, robbed, raped, and – after she testified – kidnapped by police officers in Rio de Janeiro. When ...
On November 20, 2014 / By jruv
Thaddeus Blanchette 1
The Orgy that Wasn’t

Anthropologist Thaddeus Blanchette at the Federal University Rio de Janeiro of Macaé presents the Observatory of Prostitution’s preliminary findings of research on the World Cup effect on Rio de Janeiro’s sex industry ...
On November 11, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Ruby: “World Cup was not good for us.”

Ruby and Aline, colleagues for almost a decade in Vila Mimosa, talk about what it was like to work over World Cup. I’m not going to lie. World ...
On September 23, 2014 / By jruv
Anthropology 0
Charter of Principles of the Brazilian Network of Prostitutes

(feature image: Censored by the Ministry of Health: “My biggest wish is for society to see us as citizens.”) The Network considers prostitution a profession, provided it ...
On September 13, 2014 / By jruv
Anthropology 0
On sex workers and the respect we all deserve

This story by Gabriella Feola was published in Papo de Homem on June 21, 2014 (link) and has been translated into English and published on redlightr.io with permission. Gabriella ...
On September 9, 2014 / By jruv
Anthropology 1
World Cup was bad business for the vast majority of sex workers in Rio

Observatory of Prostitution – World Cup Preliminary Report The Observatory of Prostitution is pleased to announce the publication of our preliminary report of findings on the World Cup’s ...
On September 5, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 1
I want to know about your safety.

Three weeks into World Cup, on the day of the Argentina vs Belgium quarterfinal, I met Ani, Aline’s colleague in Vila Mimosa for the last ten years. Ani ...
On August 7, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Brazil’s Most Wanted Prostitute

Isabel was one of four hundred prostitutes working in Niteroi’s Caixa Economica building across the bay from Rio de Janeiro until May 23, when a massive operation involving ...
On July 24, 2014 / By jruv
Ana Paula da Silva 5
Observatory of Prostitution report on World Cup sex tourism in Rio

I am honored to be working as a research collaboration with Rio’s Observatory of Prostitution, an extension project of the Metropolitan Ethnographic Lab – LeMetro/IFCS-UFRJ at the Federal ...
On June 30, 2014 / By jruv
Anthropology 6
100 sex workers illegally arrested, robbed and raped near Rio

Niterói, May 23, 2014 Published in the Observatório da Prostituição (link) I am a research collaborator with the Observatório da Prostituição (Observatory on Prostitution), an extension project of the Metropolitan ...
On May 25, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Rest in peace Natalha

I have never met a woman who has been through such hell and emerged with such resilience. Natalha worked for thirteen years in Vila and knew Aline from ...
On May 18, 2014 / By jruv
Laura Murray 1
Prostitutes protest in Rio’s sister city

In preparation for this summer’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, Rio has been undergoing the biggest prostitution crackdown in a generation, closing venues, arresting prostitutes, even seizing ...
On April 21, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 0
Eviction Rumors

“Have you heard the rumors we have to move?” Aline asks her colleagues the question that scares her the most – Have they heard the rumors the red ...
On March 26, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 1
Trafficked in Portugal

Patricia, a sex worker in Rio’s red light district, has traveled abroad multiple times over the last 16 years to work in in Spain’s sex industry. On her ...
On March 10, 2014 / By jruv
Ana Paula da Silva 3
The Myth of Maria

What is the profile of a Brazilian sex trafficking victim? Brazilian anthropologists Ana Paula da Silva, Thaddeus Blanchette and Andressa Raylane Bento explain how the common face of Brazilian sex trafficking ...
On March 10, 2014 / By jruv
Ana Paula da Silva 2
Brazilian Sex Trafficking

Is sex trafficking a problem in Brazil? Do Brazilian women get trafficked abroad? Brazilian anthropologists Ana Paula da Silva, Thaddeus Blanchette and Andressa Raylane Bento unpack how a ...
On March 10, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 2
My First Time

22 women in Rio’s working class red light district talk about the first time they did sex work, what it was like, and why they’re still doing it. ...
On February 27, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 1
Milena

Milena is one of the first women I met in Vila Mimosa in January of 2012. She was working as a manager at the house Aline works as ...
On February 22, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 3
Breadwinners

22 women in Rio’s red light district talk about why they work in the sex industry. All of them support their families with their income. ...
On February 17, 2014 / By jruv
Cristiana Schettini 1
World Cup Sex Panic

Anthropologist Thaddeus Blanchette and historian Cristiana Schettini provide a history of Rio sex in their 2013 paper, Sex Work in Rio de Janeiro: “More than tolerated – effectively managed”. Published to RED LIGHT ...
On January 26, 2014 / By jruv
Cristiana Schettini 2
Prostitution Today in Rio

Anthropologist Thaddeus Blanchette and historian Cristiana Schettini provide a history of Rio sex in their 2013 paper, Sex Work in Rio de Janeiro: “More than tolerated – effectively managed”. Published to RED LIGHT ...
On January 26, 2014 / By jruv
Cristiana Schettini 3
Police as Madams

Anthropologist Thaddeus Blanchette and historian Cristiana Schettini provide a history of Rio sex in their 2013 paper, Sex Work in Rio de Janeiro: “More than tolerated – effectively managed”. Published to RED LIGHT ...
On January 26, 2014 / By jruv
Cristiana Schettini 4
Prostitution Markets and Sanitation Campaigns

Anthropologists Thaddeus Blanchette and Cristiana Schettini provide a history of Rio sex in their 2013 paper, Sex Work in Rio de Janeiro: “More than tolerated – effectively managed”. Published to RED ...
On January 26, 2014 / By jruv
Cristiana Schettini 4
Prostitution in Rio: “Not Illegal”

Anthropologist Thaddeus Blanchette and historian Cristiana Schettini provide a history of Rio sex in their 2013 paper, Sex Work in Rio de Janeiro: “More than tolerated – effectively managed”. Published to ...
On January 25, 2014 / By jruv
Cristiana Schettini 6
A History of Rio Sex

Anthropologist Thaddeus Blanchette and historian Cristiana Schettini provide a history of Rio sex in their 2013 paper, Sex Work in Rio de Janeiro: “More than tolerated – effectively managed”. The ...
On January 25, 2014 / By jruv
Interviews 1
Gabriela

Gabriela talks with Julie and Aline about social misery, her exit plans and the internal conflict of managing two identities. Filmed at Aline’s house. ...
On January 25, 2014 / By jruv
Soraya Simoes 8
Vila Mimosa: An Eviction Timeline

Rio has a history of warring with its prostitutes when tourists come to town that stretches back 100 years. When King Albert of Belgium came to town in ...
On January 23, 2014 / By jruv
Anthropology 0
Rio’s Prostitution Crackdown

AS RIO DE JANEIRO PREPARES FOR ITS TURN ON THE GLOBAL STAGE– as the host of the World Cup in 2014, then the 2016 Summer Olympics – the ...
On December 30, 2013 / By jruv