Brazil’s alternative sentencing program for youths flourishes in São Paulo state municipalities Aline Gatto Boueri New perspectives for youth at risk in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, as alternative sentencing program takes off under the auspices of the NAI or Núcleo de Atendimento Integrado, (Integrated Care Center).

Brazil’s judges pressed to choose alternative sentencing for child and youth offenders Aline Gatto Boueri Landmark recommendation privileges alternative sentencing for children and youths in Brazil. Over 50% of the youths sentenced are currently in custody.

Illicit trade in guns contributing factor to youth involvement in armed violence, say NGOs at UN Small Arms meeting Aline Gatto Boueri Sweden’s Save the Children and the Brazilian NGO Viva Rio’s COAV program take concerns over child and youth involvement in armed violence to the UN Small Arms Meeting held in New York City.

Brazil’s “Police and Youth” program: undoing stereotypes and cutting down on crime Aline Gatto Boueri “Police and Youth” program in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, bridges a divide and lowers crime rates in local communities. The initiative will be taken to other Brazilian cities in the grip of violent crime, and is the subject of a documentary film.

Brazil: Seminar on women and girls in armed violence in Rio de Janeiro offers preview of pioneering research Aline Gatto Boueri Research evaluates motivation for women and girls to join in armed violence, and the ways in which they relate to the issue. Seminar participants demand more data from government sources.

Maras members on reality television, learning the ropes as businessmen and getting a second chance in Guatemala COAV Newsroom Businessmen have joined efforts to create a unique experience of reality television. Members of rival gangs live under the same roof and compete as businessmen. “It is a topic that interests the entire nation, about youths who could be my own children,” said Carlos Zúñiga, mentor of five of the 10 participants.

Youths with guns, increasingly a part of life in Brazil’s small towns COAV Newsroom A COAV survey of newspapers across Brazil on teen gangs, the drug trade and armed violence finds that violence is not restricted to urban conglomerates such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Smaller cities previously thought to be immune to gang activities such as Porto Velho, Teresina, Cuiabá and Florianópolis have been hit with rising rates of gun violence.

Women and armed violence, new data on an elusive topic in Rio de Janeiro based research Lis Moriconi Rio de Janeiro based researchers Jessica Galeria and Tatiana Moura reconsider traditional myopic views on women’s roles in armed violence, and bring them into the horizon of public policy and scientific investigation.

Brazil: grave human rights violations persist, says report COAV Newsroom Brazil’s Social Justice Network issues human rights report calling attention to the unacceptable number of deaths in the countryside and cases of police corruption in the big cities. The 2005 survey is a collaboration of journalists, lawyers, researchers, social workers and activists that focuses on agrarian reform, slave labor, the homeless and juvenile justice.

Images of violence threading the daily life of poor neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, photographs by the Observatório de Favelas bring the truth closer to home COAV Newsroom The multimedia project "Até Quando?" was created to bring information to a larger public and stimulate discussion about the violent daily life of poor neighborhoods in Rio. The photos were taken by students of the School for Grassroots Photographers Images of the People.