An experience not unique: Naira's story.

• Author: Schwarzstein, Jacques

Naira was 13 when her father quit their home in the poor coastal city of Olinda, in Brazil's Pernambuco State. He was unemployed and said he was going south to Rio de Janeiro to make some money. He never came back. never telephoned or wrote.

Naira is now 15 years old. She is hurt, angry and, like the other 24 girls listening to her story, old beyond her years. "When my father left, my mother was alone, but after a while she found another man", says Naira. "He used to be with the police, but now he's retired and doesn't do anything, just some odd jobs once in a while. When my mother goes to work, he follows me around and wants to do things to me. When he drinks, he tries to grab me and drag me to the bed."

Fortunately for Naira, her grandmother lives in the same house. "When he starts up like that I run to her and stick close to her", she says. "I don't tell her what's going on, but I think she knows."

Francisca, a serious and very adult-looking 16-year-old, sits crosslegged and pensive, absorbing the details of Naira's story - a story much like her own.

Olinda is a historic city with 360,000 inhabitants - 60 per cent of whom live in shanty towns and poor neighbourhoods. Like many cities. oppressed by poverty, Olinda has witnessed the widespread disintegration of families, along with a marked increase in the number of women heading households alone. Many of these women search for new partners who might also fill the financial gap left by deserting spouses. As a result, countless thousands of teenage girls like Naira and Francisca are exposed to sexual abuse at the hands of strangers.

Naira's mother does not want to hear about her boyfriend's behaviour. "Once I tried to tell my mother, but she didn't believe me. She said the shorts I wear are too tight. She said I was leading him on." Naira's mother became jealous and struck her. "She thinks I want to steal her man away from her. She started to beat me and called me a whore."

Francisca is also angry, but timid. She wonders if she will have the courage to tell about her stepfather, who won't leave her alone. But she draws strength from the knowledge that her experience is not unique. Almost every girl in the room has a similar story to tell.

The girls were brought together by a United Nations Children's Fund-assisted project, begun in January 1993 by the non-governmental organization Coletivo Mulher Vida (Woman/Life Collective) to prevent further sexual abuse and reduce the risk of these...