RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Shelter Offers Refuge for Beaten Women

By Clarinha Glock Reprint | | Print |

Clarinha Glock

PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL, Mar 25 1999 (IPS) - Maria (not her real name) speaks slowly as though slowly recovering her liberty, but fearing she will lose control.

This woman with her long hair and long-suffering face lived for 25 years with the man she loved and their four children.

However, in the last 15 years of their relation he came to rely increasingly on alcohol and cocaine, a habit which turned him into an increasingly aggressive assailant.

Maria’s life became a cycle of fear and threats, with sexual abuse and beatings which often ended with her seeking treatment in the casualty department of the local hospital.

There was the time he beat her head against the toilet bowl, and another incident when he threw a bottle opener at her leaving a deep cut beside her eye.

Maria avoided going to the police in the belief that things would get better, but when he smashed the glass out of the front door and said he would use it to cut her throat, she fled in search of help.

She was put up by various members of her family until she found the sanctuary of the Viva Maria Support Centre, a refuge for women victims of violence and their children, the location of which is kept secret for security reasons.

Founded six years ago in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, the Centre has already dealt with the cases of 800 women and mothers, like Maria, escaping from the violence of their own homes, sexual aggression or death threats to find a warm welcome, rediscover peace and restart their lives.

A survey carried out between May and November 1998 registered the profile of women sheltered by Viva Maria and allowed a certain insight into how they think and act after leaving their attackers and spending some time in the refuge.

Some 88 women from the 110 families assisted around Porto Alegre in the last 30 months were located and interviewed.

The census revealed that an average victim of violence is aged 29 years old, has three or four children and did not finish primary school. Many are illiterate.

This does not mean better off, better educated women do not suffer such aggression, but simply that they are less likely to seek support in a women’s refuge.

Most of the women were sent to the shelter by the authorities working for children’s rights. Most of the women said they finally fled their homes following injuries from physical aggression, death threats and sexual abuse. In 78.5 percent of cases the aggressor was their partner.

Out of all those interviewed, 68 did not return to their previous situation after leaving the Support Centre, but 20 did reestablish family relations in spite of the violence suffered.

“In some way, the period in the shelter made them more emotionally stable allowing them to start work and pick up their lives again,” said Stela Meneghel, one of the refuge coordinators.

In a second stage, the former residents told of their experiences after “exile,” in a three-day meeting held in Viva Maria with the new arrivals. They revealed both the scars of the past and their hopes for the future, like wanting to care for their personal appearances, improve self-esteem and lay down roots in their own homes.

“The experience showed the need to extend links with health centres offering first aid, both in the diagnosis and accompaniment of the women when they leave the shelter,” said Marcia Camargo, founder of Viva Maria and researcher for the study.

Keeping the link alive is one way of preventing the violence from starting again, she argued. The research also showed the need for activities directed toward the aggressors.

“There is a lack of individual attention. Many women die because when they don’t find help when they look for it. When they survive, they have to face up to the ineffectiveness of the legal services to punish their attackers,” added Camargo.

The 1988 Brazilian Constitution gives the State the obligation to create mechanisms to contain domestic violence. The creation of specialist Police Stations to deal with women was a great step forward, but has proved insufficient in itself to deal with the problem.

There are currently ten shelters like Viva Maria in the country, offering psychological help and in some cases training to help reconstruct the women’s lives and break their dependence on the aggressor.

Domestic violence is common throughout the social spectrum in Brazil, as it is the whole world, and a study by the National Human Rights Movement showed that husbands, other relatives and friends account for 80 percent of murders of women in the country.

This year, National Congress approved an amendment planning financial support for the establishment of new refuges. In 1999, there will be five million reals (2.8 million dollars) for construction, and a further three million (1.7 million dollars) for maintenance. (FIN/IPS/tra-so/cg-mo/sm/99)