Rio to take part in 16 Days of Activism campaign to end violence against women

The 16 Days of Activism campaign for the end of violence against women, which is sponsored by Amnesty International and takes places simultaneously in 150 countries, was marked by a public hearing at the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro, held on Tuesday (Dez 2) . The move is an effort to promote debate, demand action, and raise society's awareness about the topic, apart from further analyzing the causes of the problem. In Brazil, the campaign also plans to discuss the challenges faced by the Maria da Penha Law and the progress it has made. Among other things, the law sets forth how aggressors should be punished.

In the view of Deputy Inês Pandeló, a member of the Workers' Party (PT) and the head of the Legislative Assembly's Commission for the Defense of Women's Rights, society must understand that violence against women does not concern women alone. She believes the culture of Brazil is a sexist one and has excluded women for centuries.

“Everyone's concerned about urban violence, but much of [it] is born inside people's homes, in the form of violence against women, children and adolescents; so, sadly, it's still necessary to bring it into debate. […] Today, women occupy great positions; they have overcome major obstacles, but in their subconscious and within society's culture, women are still submissive, and that's incorporated by men, and also by many women, unfortunately.”

Police Commissioner Martha Rocha, former chief of the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police and newly-elected State Deputy, says that the Maria da Penha Law has brought about a number of achievements connected with the protection of women. She believes there has been “significant progress”, but “adjustments are still needed”, like the increase in the number of courts and the expansion of the scope of the Public Defender's Office, whose services are only available in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Rocha further stressed that violence against women is a universal phenomenon: “it affects beautiful, ugly, young, elderly, educated, and uneducated women alike. Therefore, it's an on-going fight, and we want the support of men in this fight. That's why we have, for instance, programs like the 16 Days of Activism, where men wear a white ribbon to say no to violence against women.”

According to the Amnesty International website, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign that starts on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day. The campaign hopes to raise awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international level. This year’s theme is ”Let’s challenge militarism and end violence against women”.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira