Professor and family face up to eight years in prison for their treatment of woman given to them as a child

A Brazilian woman enslaved as a maid from the age of eight for almost four decades and forced into marriage has been rescued in a rare crackdown on domestic slavery.

The 46-year-old was found living in a small room in an apartment in Patos de Minas, in the south eastern state of Minas Gerais. She had worked for the family for most of her life without pay or any time off, according to labour inspectors.

Related: Brazil ordered to pay $5m to workers formerly enslaved on cattle ranch

This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.