The Rio de Janeiro Public Security Institute (ISP) began compiling and disseminating data on the crime of femicide in the state in 2016 and shows the growth of cases in recent years. They were 78 in 2020, 85 in 2021 and jumped to 97 last year, without yet computing December data. There is news of at least three more cases in the last month of 2022. As for attempts to femicide, there were 270, 264 and 265 in each year, respectively.
ADVERTISING
Only in Rocinha community, there were two cases on December 29th and two more in the first days of this year. Across the state of Rio, there were at least four cases in the first days of 2023, in addition to an attempt to femicide. The victim is hospitalized.
The executive coordinator of the organization Citizenship, Study, Research, Information and Action (Cepia), lawyer Leila Linhares Barsted, who is also part of the Committee of Experts of the segment mechanism of the Belém do Pará convention, of the Organization of American States, to prevent , punish and eradicate violence against women, explains that femicide is a serious social phenomenon.
According to her, crime was intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic, when victims and aggressors began to live together for longer, as well as reflecting structural machismo and the country's high levels of violence.
ADVERTISING
“The rate of violence, the encouragement of firearms, these hate speeches, right? There is a misogyny and machismo that are increasingly strong in Brazilian society. In other words, that machismo that was a little more discreet is on the pages of the newspapers, expressed by leaders of State institutions. So it’s as if there was a license for men to exercise machismo in a more serious way against women.”
2023 Cases
No Women's Dossier from ISP, which brings data from 2016 to 2020, the numbers show that the majority of victims of femicide is killed by a partner or ex-partner (59%) and at home (59%). Barsted explains that the femicide It normally involves an intimate relationship, in which the man considers himself to be in possession of the woman.
“In other words, it is machismo that does not allow women to escape this man’s control. So, these events often occur exactly when women no longer want to live in violent situations and decide to separate. This machismo occurs exactly in this sense, the idea that the man has possession of the woman and when he loses possession, he then decides to punish her”.
ADVERTISING
Os feminicides occurred in the state this year confirm the data.
On the 1st, Stephany Ferreira do Carmo, 25 years old, was stabbed inside her home, in Cidade Alta, north of the capital, in front of her 7-year-old son. She is hospitalized in stable condition, after being in an induced coma and undergoing surgery. The suspect, who was arrested, is Adriano Quirino, with whom the victim had been in a relationship for a year. The fight would have been due to jealousy.
On the 2nd, Gabriela Silva de Souza, 27 years old, was choked to death by her husband, Fábio Araújo da Silva, in Belford Roxo, in the Baixada Fluminense region. He surrendered to the police. Gabriela had decided to separate after discovering her partner had betrayed her.
Also on the 2nd, Rosilene Silva, 39 years old, was shot four times at the Cabo Frio Fish Market, where she worked. She had already denounced her ex-husband, Thiago Oliveira de Souza, for domestic violence. He was arrested the following day, on BR-101, in Casimiro de Abreu.
ADVERTISING
Last Sunday (8), Carmem Dias da Silva, 29 years old, was stabbed to death and cut with glass, in Rocinha, after a fight with Wendel Luka da Silva Virgílio, arrested in the act. It was the first time that Carmem met Wendel, who she met online. She was the niece of bricklayer Amarildo Souza, who died in 2013 after being taken for investigation at the Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) in Rocinha.
Also in Rocinha, Daniela Barros Soares, 29 years old, was shot in the head while she slept, on the 9th, by her ex-husband Rios Loureiro de Souza Sablich, who handed himself in at the Police City. Rios and Wendel had their arrest in the act converted into preventative arrest at the custody hearing, which took place on Tuesday (10).
Confronting violence
At his inauguration, on the 1st, Governor Cláudio Castro stated that he will give priority to combating violence against women and femicide. He cited programs already implemented by his management, such as the Rede Mulher app, assistance to families of victims of femicide, the Maria da Penha Patrol, Casa Abrigo and the Lilás Bus.
ADVERTISING
Castro also created the Women's Secretariat, which will be headed by Heloísa Aguiar. The report requested an interview with the secretary, but has not yet received a response.
Another area that will be strengthened this year is the Public Defender's Office of Rio de Janeiro, which elected the first woman in office as general defender in the institution's 68-year history. At the inauguration ceremony, on Tuesday (10), Patrícia Cardoso stated that she brings a gender perspective, the fight against violence against women and that she intends to implement this vision in the public defender's office.
“These are absurd statistics, women are being killed more and more. This challenge of confronting violence against women, of empowering this woman so that she can pack her bags, like my grandmother packed my grandfather's suitcase, this ability, this empowerment, is very important. The Public Defender’s Office, together with the state government, has a prominent role and I wanted to put this on record.”
For Basterd, the fact of having two women in positions of power and decision-making should contribute to combating violence. According to the lawyer, it is necessary to institutionalize dialogue between the various institutions that work in this area, to actually promote an integrated network of protection for women who are victims of violence and, thus, prevent femicide.
“I do hope that the new secretary can have sufficient strength and continuous dialogue with the other powers and with the women's movements. The State Council for Women's Rights has a women's safety commission, the Rio de Janeiro School of Judiciary has a permanent forum on violence against women. So it is important that the new women's policy manager can open a channel of dialogue with social movements, with other organizations in the state, so that we can really strengthen this policy and put it into practice”.
It also highlights the need to guarantee a budget for the implementation of the protective measures provided for in Maria da Penha Law and due inspection to check whether they are working, as well as the production of statistical data on the topic.
“Often this is written in large documents, in large proposals, but the budgetary resources, training, increase and strengthening of teams end up not materializing. We suggest that data on protective measures can be more complete. What type of measure, what is the profile of the woman who received the measure, what is the profile of the aggressor, what response did this woman receive from the Judiciary? In other words, there are many questions that still need to be addressed.”
Federal transition
In the Government Transition Office Report, the group that dealt with policies for women pointed out the seriousness of the problem.
“In the first half of 2022, Brazil broke a record for femicides, registering around 700 cases in the period. In 2021, more than 66 thousand women were victims of rape; more than 230 thousand Brazilian women suffered physical attacks due to domestic violence. The data are from the most recent Brazilian Public Security Yearbook. Although all women are exposed to this violence, racism is evident: black women are 67% of victims of feminicide and 89% of victims of sexual violence.”
The data from femicide are from the report Violence against Girls and Women of the 1st half of 2022, from the Brazilian Public Security Forum, which reported 699 cases in the period analyzed. The document was released in December. In previous years, the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook, from the same institution, reports 1.229 feminicides in 2018, 1.330 in 2019, 1.354 in 2020 and 1.341 in 2021. Complete data for 2022 has not yet been released.
The transition report points to the dismantling of policies to combat violence against women as the cause of the worsening of the situation, such as the shutdown of Dial 180, which had only R$6 million in 2023 allocated to reporting, reception and guidance services. of women victims of domestic violence.
“In the case of the Mulher Viver Sem Violência program, the main axes that guaranteed the capacity for execution were removed from the legislation, releasing the State from complying with them. The program’s budget was dehydrated by 90%, and the construction of Casas da Mulher Brasileira was halted.”
The Cepia coordinator states that the entire protection network has been dismantled in recent years, despite the country having the National Pact for Combating Violence Against Women, involving the three spheres of government, launched in 2007 and updated in 2011.
“What we are seeing is that the women's care network, in recent years, has been increasingly weakened. They are reference centers with precarious facilities, disbanded teams, police stations, health care, these public services have been weakened and many have been demobilized throughout Brazil.”
According to Basterd, a change of mentality is urgent to take the country out of the barbarity imposed by thoughts such as machismo, racism and homophobia, as well as the increase in the gun culture.
“So, these are national public policies, the disarmament of the population, the education of the population towards civilizing standards. We are experiencing patterns of barbarism, with hate speech, immense intolerance, and of course all of this encourages these criminals, these feminicides, to carry out these acts against women. It is not just about punishing aggressors, about punishing criminals, it is about re-educating society towards civilizing standards of relationships between individuals”.
(With Brazil Agency)
Read also
Receive news and newsletters do Curto News by Telegram e WhatsApp.
