Violence against women, according to the Convention of Belém do Pará is "all and any conduct, based on gender, that causes death, damage or physical, sexual or psychological suffering to women, both in the public sphere and in the private".
Gender-based violence is a worldwide problem. According to UN data, 7 out of 10 women in the world have already been or will be victims of violence. This violence has cultural origins, is the result of a patriarchal and sexist society, where men and women occupy different positions of power.
most of the violence against women happens at home, by family members or people close to the family and by partners or ex-partners. Most of the victims of this violence are kids and teenagers.
Gender inequality and discrimination have naturalized violence against women. Societies, for a long time, did not recognize it as a violation of Human Rights and, in many countries, the law itself allowed (and still allows) submission and violence against women.
Types of violence against women
According to the Maria da Penha Law (Law 11.340/06), there are five types of domestic and family violence against women:
- Physics: conduct that threatens the woman's bodily health or physical integrity. Examples are: beatings, suffocation, injuries with sharp or piercing objects, torture, injuries caused by firearms and burns.
- Psychological: conduct that causes emotional and self-esteem damage and disturbs the woman's development or exerts control over her actions and decisions. Examples are: embarrassment, threat, humiliation, persecution, isolation and exploitation.
- Sexual: any action that forces a woman to have unwanted sexual intercourse. They are: rape, the impediment of contraceptive methods, forcing an abortion or limiting any reproductive rights of the woman.
- Assets: any act of destruction, retention or subtraction of personal objects, goods and economic resources. Examples are: control of money, destruction of documents, non-payment of child support, theft, extortion and embezzlement.
- Moral: actions that are configured as slander, defamation or insult. Examples are: lying criticisms, demotion of women through cursing, exposure of intimate life, devaluation of women for their way of dressing.
Learn more about Maria da Penha Law.
Violence against women in Brazil
In Brazil, violence against women is a historical problem, built on traditions that reinforce the inequality and the submission of women in relation to men.
In colonial Brazil, for example, legislation allowed husbands to murder their wives if they suspected treason. Then, with the proclamation of the Republic, the civil Code determined that women were "unable" and that they could only work outside the home or sign contracts with their husband's permission.
The institutionalization of violence against women contributed to the naturalization of the idea of submission and hierarchy between genders and prevented women from seeking help or reporting their aggressors.
In recent decades, however, civil society has started to demand an end to violations and respect for women's rights. O feminist movement it played a fundamental role in this struggle, both in direct action with the government and in raising awareness in society.
Although Brazil is still one of the countries that kills the most women in the world, these mobilizations allowed important advances in the fight to end violence against women in Brazil.
Learn more about feminism.
An important milestone of this fight was the Belém do Pará Convention, also known as the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women, enacted in 1994 and adopted by Brazil in 1995.
This convention is important because it establishes the right at women live free from violence and classifies violence against women as a violation of human rights. The signatory States are responsible for eradicating this type of violence.
Failure to do so was what led the Organization of American States (OAS) to condemn Brazil for extreme tolerance in the case ofMaria da penha, who for years denounced her husband for the violence suffered.
This case gave the name to the most important law against domestic and family violence in Brazil, the Lei Mari ada Penha (Law 11.340/06). This law provides for more severe punishments for domestic and family aggressions.
Alternative penalties such as payment for food baskets were used as punishment for the aggressors. Based on this law, the aggressors can have pre-trial detention or be arrested in the act. In addition, the detention time was increased and measures were taken so that the aggressor cannot approach the victim.
Learn more about protective measures and femicide.
The Maria da Penha case
Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes experienced several situations of violence practiced by her husband Marco Antonio Heredia Viveros, who in 1983, after 7 years of marriage, shot her in the back and left her paraplegic.
Upon returning home after surgeries and treatments, Maria da Penha was held in private prison for 15 days and suffered another assassination attempt, this time her husband tried to electrocute her while taking a shower.
Maria da Penha denounced her aggressor, but he was only tried eight years after the crime, in 1991. His sentence was 15 years, but he was released from the forum due to the resources requested by the defense.
The next trial took place in 1996, on which occasion her ex-husband was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the sentence was not served. In 2002, just a few months before the statute of limitations for the crime, he was sentenced to just two years. Heredia served his sentence and in 2004 was already free.
In 1998, the case was reported to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (IACHR/OAS). O Brazilian state did not comment once during the process and was convicted of omission, negligence and tolerance in relation to violence against women.
See also the meaning of domestic violence.
Data on violence against women in Brazil
- Every 2 minutes, two women are beaten.
- Every hour, 503 women are victims of aggression.
- Every 2 hours, 1 woman is murdered.
- Home 11 minutes, 1 woman is raped.
It is estimated that the data on violence against women is greater than the statistics indicate. This is because many women fail to report their aggressors, out of fear, material and emotional dependence or shame.
It is important to emphasize that, when opening data on violence against women, an even more serious situation for women black women. These differences are the result of the historical processes of slavery that structured Brazilian society and of racism, which is still a determining factor in social relations.
know more about racial inequality.
Prevention of violence against women
The origins of violence against women in Brazil and in the world are the result of long historical processes and, therefore, difficult to overcome. Laws can prevent, protect and punish aggressors, but to end violence it is necessary to deconstruct gender inequalities and discrimination.
Such cultural changes require great efforts, especially in education, on the part of the State and society as a whole. Public policies must guarantee equality of opportunity, respect for women's rights and mechanisms for combating violence.
A woman will file a complaint only if there is a structure that offers her security and that the justice, in fact, judges and punishes the aggressors, otherwise the violence is silenced.
Also read about gender inequality, misogyny and chauvinism.
