Transgender women and Travestis subjected to forced labor: Labor inspector's actions in the operation "Libertas"

Abstract

This is an analysis of factual and legal circumstances that influenced the inspection action carried out within the scope of “Operation Libertas”, put into effect in cooperation between several state bodies. In the fifth phase of the operation, sexual exploitation activities were inspected, and the Labor Inspection found that workers (transgender women and transvestites) were subjected to conditions like those of slaves. In this article, themes regarding human dignity, work like that of slaves, sexual work, legal recognition for the trans and transvestite population and Labor Inspection are articulated, notably anchored in Axel Honneth, Renato Muçadoçah, Saulo Matos and Daniel Sarmento. The hypothesis developed in this research is that the fight against the objectification of human beings resulting from the overexploitation of work, the enforcement of fundamental labor rights and the promotion of fundamental rights at work for transsexuals and transvestites are criteria that allow evaluating the contribution of the Labor Inspection as a response to the problem: to what extent do the actions of the Labor Inspection contribute to the legal recognition of trans women and transvestites sexually exploited in conditions similar to those of slaves. The research was based on bibliographical, documental, and empirical review, resulting from the authors’ experience and observation in the exercise of Labor Inspection Audit, as well as an interview using a semi-structured questionnaire with the coordinator of the national team responsible for inspection actions on the topic of sexual exploitation within the scope of the Inspection Division for the Eradication of Slave Labor – DETRAE.