O October 25th was established by the United Nations (UN) as the International Day against the Exploitation of Women, a date dedicated to reflecting on gender inequalities and discrimination that still persist in our reality. The problems related to this fact are quite explicit and, although the situation has improved a lot in the last decades thanks to the struggle waged by groups dedicated to the fight for gender equality and against discrimination, there is still a lot to be done. advance.
Among the most serious problems, the one that draws most attention is cases of domestic violence against women. Data released by the World Health Organization (WHO), collected in conjunction with the School of Tropical Hygiene of London reveals that approximately 35% of all murders of women in the world are committed by a partner intimate.
In Brazil, according to 2009 PNAD/IBGE data, 48% of women who are attacked report that the violence took place in their own homes. Other numbers released by the Avon Institute/Data popular 2012, in a work entitled “Men's perceptions about violence against women”, demonstrates that, within the universe of the sample collected from 1500 people, 56% of men admit that they already have committed some form of aggression between cursing, pushing, attacking with words, slapping, punching, preventing from leaving the house or forcing have sex.
The actions taken to solve these problems are still recent, but already showing results. The Maria da Penha Law, created in 2006, is one of the steps taken towards the elimination of gender-based domestic violence. The study “Assessing the Effectiveness of the Maria da Penha Law”, carried out by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and released in 2015, shows that, since 2006, the law has reduced previous projections for the homicide rate by 10% household appliances.
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However, there are certain problems that have deep roots. Gender inequality is not just related to violence against women. The parliament of a democratic country, such as Brazil, is iconic, or at least it should be, within its representative role. However, among the 513 seats in our Chamber of Deputies, only 51 of them (9.9%) were occupied by women in the 2014 elections. The world scenario is no different, as among all the nations in the world, only 19 of them are governed by women, as is the case of President Dilma Rousseff, re-elected in 2014.
The serious problems related to gender inequality show the real dimension of the need to increasingly seek actions that elevate us to the condition of equals in our human relations. The international day against the exploitation of women represents a day of struggle against the abuses suffered by women around the world and against inequalities in opportunities and treatment. However, it represents even more the struggle for a more inclusive and less violent humanity.
by Lucas Oliveira
Graduated in Sociology
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
RODRIGUES, Lucas de Oliveira. "October 25th – International Day against the Exploitation of Women"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/dia-internacional-contra-exploracao-mulher.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
