(...) Following this research, it was possible to begin a range of activities which, have since have given rise to many others, responsible for the consolidation of CEDECA/BA as a reference organization to oppose and prevent abuse and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.

Apart from legal assistance, the organization began psychotherapeutic assistance for child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse, in 1998. This was an attempt to overcome the after effects brought about by this type of violence with an agreement signed between the Center and the State Court of Justice. This work is the result of a request by judges from the Specialized Criminal Jurisdictions for Children and Young People who realized that traumatized victims hardly spoke in the hearings, making it difficult to prosecute the guilty.

From this new line of action activities, which are typical of an organization for the defense of rights, the following were added: a public legal service, social activation and content production as direct assistance for child and adolescent victims of sexual violence.

In 1995, the Campaign Against Infant and Juvenile Sexual Exploitation, promoted in partnership with the Military Police of Bahia and Unicef and launched in Bahia, was adopted by the Federal Government and advertised throughout the whole national territory for six months. It was a denunciation campaign, which counted on well-known artists such as Daniela Mercury, Renato Aragão, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

In 1997, through legal work in partnership with Unicef, CEDECA/BA succeeded in getting the State of Bahia Court of Justice to create the first Specialized Criminal Jurisdictions for Children and Young People in Brazil. In the following year, as a result of this work, an agreement was signed between CEDECA-BA and the State Court of Justice, as well as providing the possibility for other Brazilian cities, such as Fortaleza and Recife, to introduce their own Specialized Criminal Jurisdictions. (...)

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