RIGHTS-BRAZIL: Gender-Based and Domestic Violence Under Attack

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

James Allen Paranayba and Mario Osava

BRASILIA, Nov 27 1998 (IPS) - Domestic violence, and more especially, attacks on women and children, will be targeted by a vigourous campaign in Brasil based on an Anti-Domestic Violence Pact signed by government, non-government and United Nations entities.

Justice minister, Renan Calheiros, Human Rights Minister, Jose Gregori, and chair of the National Women’s Rights Council, Rosiska de Oliveira, were amongst the first to sign on to the agreement.

Ninety non government organisations (NGO’s) also joined the list, also taking on the commitment to implement an agenda for reducing domestic violence. One of the main aims is to lobby for a bill making action against these crimes more effective.

A campaign entitled “Don’t keep quiet, talk about it” (No se Calle, Dialogue) will be broadcast on television and 4,000 radio stations nationwide to raise public awareness of the problem.

This campaign, initially planned to run for a year, will try to “improve conditions for living together, working for peace and solidarity within the household,” said Gregori.

It will publicise the seriousness of the issue, ways to prevent the violence happening, and the legislation and resources available to women and children in order to put a stop to this.

The idea is to encourage women to report attacks – through the Women’s Commissions slowly being established across the nation – and for provincial governments to set up more shelters to help families make the break as painlessly as possible.

Responsibility for the initiative lies with the National Council of Women’s Rights and the Ministry of Human Rights, both linked to the Justice Ministry, but NGO participation will also be needed to promote awareness of the problem and prevention mechanisms.

Action will also be taken encouraging Congress to approve new laws related to domestic violence – theere are at least five bills of this sort currently working their way through Parliament.

Meanwhile, Calheiros released data from a study by the Interamerican Development Bank, stating violence in Latin America caused the loss of 14.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the region and affects between 35 and 50 percent of women.

Another specific campaign counters violence against women. “The most dangerous place for a woman to be is within her own home,” said Rosiska de Oliveira.

The home – with its widely accepted connotations of security and affection – is where most violent acts against women and children take place, added Ellen Cristina Geraldes, researcher from the National Human Rights Movement (MNDH), one of the pact signatory NGO.

Eighty percent of murders of women are committed by their husbands, relatives or friends, within the family forum, according to MNDH data which formed the basis for this campaign, said Geraldes.

And this same group of men is responsible for 70 percent of rapes, added Debora Menezes, special commissioner for Women in Brasilia.

Statistics clearly show “while men are those most murdered in the streets or outside thier homes, women die at home, danger is right beside them, in a form of violence which is perpetuated,” said Geraldes.

Measures to combat domestic violence and violence against women were suggested by the authorities in a seminar hosted earlier this week by the Chamber of Deputies’ Human Rights Commission and several NGOs.

The most effective State action would be in the prevention field, said Diana Azevedo, parliamentary advisor of the Feminist Studies and Advisory Centre (CFEMEA), the NGO behind the seminar.

Specialist Ombudsman services must be established to attend to female victims of violence dealing with specific needs, like psychological support, said Azevedo.

There are only nine women’s refuges in the whole of Brazil, while in Britain, with a population less than half the size, there are 87, she stressed.

Meanwhile, Canada has set up nearly 200 such centres to help women escape their attackers and prepare for a new life, said Geraldes.

The physical impossibility of leaving a violent husband means the violence often becomes repetitive and sometimes escalates leading to murder.

State action is needed to put an end to this situation, offering refuges, professional training, nurseries and help for woment to form an independent life, explained the researcher.

Domestic violence is more common than violence in other ambits, and it spawns further violence by forcing children to leave home and live on the streets, where violence of various sorts becomes a way of life, concluded Geraldes.