Maria da Penha law is the name given to legislation that guarantees the protection of women against any type of domestic violence, whether physical, psychological, patrimonial or moral.
THE Law No. 11,340, August 7, 2006, popularly known as Maria da Penha Law, changed the Brazilian Penal Code, causing aggressors to be arrested in flagrante or have decreed preventive detention if they commit any pre-established act of domestic violence by law.
Another major change that the Maria da Penha law brought was the elimination of alternative penalties for aggressors, who were previously punished with payment of a basic food basket or small fines.
The aggressor can also be sentenced to three years in prison, and the penalty is increased by a third if the crime is committed against a person with a disability.
All crimes that fall under the Maria da Penha law must be tried by the Specialized Courts on Domestic Violence against Women, which were created from this legislation.
The Maria da Penha law also applies to same-sex couples, formed by two women or transgenders (who identify with the female gender).
Learn more about the meaning of Domestic violence.
According to data released by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) in 2015, the Maria da Penha law helped reduce the rate of homicides against women in their homes by about 10%.
The Maria da Penha law is the basis for the commitments made by Brazil in response to the Convention to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women (da Organization of American States - OAS) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (United Nations - UN).
In fact, the UN recognizes the Maria da Penha law as one of the best legislations in the world to combat domestic violence against women.
History of the Maria da Penha Law
The starting point for the creation of this law was based on the history of pharmaceuticals from Ceará Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes, who suffered for approximately 23 years of domestic violence by her ex-husband.
The university professor and ex-husband of Maria da Penha, Marco Antônio Herredia Viveros, tried to kill his wife twice, the first in 1983, when he shot Maria da Penha while she was sleeping, leaving her paraplegic.
After the second assassination attempt, when she was the victim of electrocution and drowning, Maria da Penha he had the courage to denounce his aggressor and start the process that would take almost 20 years to be finished.
See also: the meaning of femicide, Protective Measure and Misogyny.