Domestic violence in Brazil

[4] Although the legal definition is explained extensively in the law, the identification of domestic violence is a responsibility of the victims or closer relatives.

[6] In his study, professor Guttmann proves that, against the common belief, the male violent behavior is not physiological or biological characteristic, but is the result of the culture of machismo, predominant in most societies, that reinforce the man's superiority to women.

[6] In the Brazil colony period, men were considered to be "owners" of women they married, entitled to beat, violent or even kill, if necessary.

[7] A study from the Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada (Ipea) shows evidence of widespread machismo in Brazil.

According to the 2014 study, Brazilian society still believes in a patriarchal nuclear family in which the man is perceived as the breadwinner, but his rights over women and children are restricted and exclude open and extreme forms of violence.

[13] The same research shows that approximately 21% of the victims of domestic violence do not look for help and the main reasons reported are concern with children (24%), fear of aggressor's revenge (21%), belief that the episode would be the last one (16%), disbelief in the appropriate legal consequences (10%) and shame (7%).

The victims offer alternative solutions, such as psychological treatment (40%), aggressors discussion groups (30%) and mandatory services to the community (10%) and 9% of the women interviewed reported they felt totally or partially guilty by the violence suffered.

A victim of domestic violence, Maria da Penha Fernandes, was shot at by her husband with a rifle, who also tried to electrocute her in the bathroom.

In the 1990s, Maria da Penha appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and, in 2001, she was able obtain justice and hold the Brazilian Government accountable for judicial tolerance of domestic violence.

The law triples previous punishments for those convicted of such crimes, and also creates special courts in all states to preside over these cases.

According to the Ministry of Justice, while many of the DEAMs fell far short of standards and lacked strategies to protect victims after the reports were filed, they nevertheless served to raise public awareness of crimes against women.

[17] "Mulher, Viver sem Violencia" Program: Launched on March 13, 2013, by the president Dilma Rousseff, this initiative aims to expand and improve the public services offered to women victims of violence.

Casa da Mulher Brasileira: The Brazilian Women House is a humanized center of services to support the woman victim of violence.

[30] The law requires health facilities to contact the police regarding cases in which a woman was harmed physically, sexually, or psychologically.

Brazil occupies the 5th position in the domestic violence crime index, preceded only by El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala and Russia.

[32] A study sponsored by the United Nations and the World Health Organization and the Brazilian Government found that 106.093 women were murdered in Brazil between 1980 and 2013.

According to the Mapa da Violencia 2015 report, the black population is the main victim of domestic violence and homicides in the country.

[32] According to the Mapa da Violencia 2015 report, about 2/3 of the population attended on the Brazilian Public Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde) are women.

Other hashtags such as #ChegaDeFiuFiu (No More Catcalls) and #MeuAmigoSecreto (My Secret Friend) also tried to call attention on sexist behaviors on day-by-day activities, such as walking on the streets or working.

[34] In 2018, elevator footage of Luis Filipe Manvalier beating his wife Tatiane Spitzner, who eventually died, was aired on the popular Fantastico TV program set off national discussion and the social media hashtag #metaAcolher (Stick a Spoon in, a reference to butting into a domestic dispute).

In 2015 ENEM, Brazil's standardized college qualification exam, the topic of the essay was “The Persistence of Violence against Women in Brazilian Society.”[34] Recent episodes have also been receiving criticism.