RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Women Begin to Fight Back Against Violence

By Clarinha Glock Reprint | | Print |

Clarinha Glock

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 20 1998 (IPS) - Bruises on her body and a frightened look in her eyes indicate why the 19-year-old woman, four months pregnant and with two children, joined a group of women battered by their husbands, partners or relatives.

An inhabitant of Vila Nova Brasilia, a poor neighbourhood of Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, “Vera” (not her real name) broke ranks with the millions of women who accept beatings in silence due to economic dependence or fear.

She sought out the neighbourhood Health Post in late November and obtained support to escape her husband’s attacks. She left home, reported her aggressor, and is now trying to rebuild her identity.

Her children were finally registered and obtained birth certificates, and the office of the public defender is helping her formalise the separation and demand child support from her husband. Vera, who never finished primary school, is now seeking a job to support her family.

Vera’s refusal to remain silent is a sign that work against domestic violence in Nova Brasilia is bearing fruit. A few days ago, she brought a pregnant friend to the Health Post. The second woman had also decided to leave her abusive husband.

Celia Medeiros Biehler, the nurse who coordinates the clinic, immediately detected the need for special attention. “I told her it was normal for women to be depressed after the birth, and the girl responded that in her case it was true, because she already felt that way.” She then confessed that her husband beat her.

Cases like Vera’s are all too frequent, despite growing efforts and international accords designed to promote respect for women’s rights.

In Porto Alegre, the Programme of Assistance to Women Victims of Sexual Violence, implemented since May by a network of bodies such as the Vila Nova Brasilia health clinic, is helping prevent abuse and mobilise the support of other public services.

An average of 1,200 cases of rape are reported each year in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, of which Porto Alegre is the capital. The women file formal complaints in police stations, are examined by the Medical Legal Department and are allowed emergency contraception or abortions.

But the ideal would be a prevention programme, said Biehler, who pointed out that most of the victims have no wage-earning jobs and are not in school. They have many children, starting as adolescents, and become virtual captives of their partners, on whom they depend for survival.

“Bad with him, worse without him,” is a refrain frequently heard by Biehler, who plans in the future to carry out educational outreach in schools. “We have to pull women out of their position as victims,” she argued.

Many of the victims of domestic violence are not prepared to report the abuse, and they are even less prepared to leave their partners. “The bruises are, in general, the culmination of a routine of threats and verbal aggression,” said Biehler.

The insensitivity of the police is another hurdle. Moreover, the laws on the books are not enough to restrain the aggressor, who “is only arrested when he kills, which is too late,” she lamented.

In Porto Alegre, the Casa de Apoyo Viva Maria takes in women who report abuse in order to protect them from death threats and possible reprisals. For that reason its address is kept secret. Besides temporary shelter, the women are offered training and help in seeking a job and a safe place to live.

Although not sufficient in themselves, such initiatives are beginning to provide alternatives to women’s vulnerability in their homes and prevent fatal outcomes.

Domestic violence is an issue being discussed in most countries around the world, especially since the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994) and the 1995 Women’s Summit in Beijing and their resolutions in favour of women’s rights.

A November gathering of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Mexico concluded that in spite of the advances, there was a long way to go to achieving full compliance with the resolutions of the Cairo conference.

Brazil has committed itself to implement international agreements on women’s rights, through the National Secretariat of Human Rights, one of whose top priorities is the defence of women.

With respect to one of the commitments – improving attention for legal abortion and humane treatment in case of complications – some progress has been seen in Brazil and even more in other countries, ” according to women’s rights advocate Marcia Camargo.

However, “there have been setbacks in others,” said Camargo, a member of the Feminist Health and Reproductive Rights Network, which links 110 Brazilian NGOs.

In Brazil, abortion is only legal in case of rape or when the mother-to-be’s life is at risk.