Violence against women, specifically domestic violence, remains a pervasive issue in Latin America. Domestic violence can be defined as, “physical, sexual, and verbal aggression…typical of sexism and a way to strengthen men's power within the household, especially if they feel economically insecure.” According to the Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública, 66% of Brazilian men have perpetrated violence against a woman in his community and 70% of Brazilian women identified as having experienced some form of violence in a public space before the age of 24. In early 2017, an in-depth examination of gender based violence in Brazil determined that only a quarter of women who experience violence by the hands of an intimate partner report incidents to the authorities. Despite strong statistical evidence supporting widespread violence against women in Brazilian households, few legal initiatives existed in Brazil to challenge this systematic violence against women. Until 2009, domestic abuse could be dismissed by the court if the woman was not deemed to be “honest.” In 2006, with intense media focus on the high-profile case of Maria da Penha, the Brazilian government created the Maria da Penha Law in an attempted response to international criticism. Over the course of her 23-year marriage, Maria da Penha was domestically abused by her husband, resulting in da Penha becoming paraplegic after two murder attempts. Following these events, da Penha, along with the Center for Justice for International Law and the Latin American Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights, spent the next twenty years fighting her husband through the Brazilian legal system; da Penha filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, emphasizing the need for the state to intervene in combating gender based violence in the country.
Components of the law
The Maria da Penha law aims to reduce domestic violence mainly by increasing punishment for domestic abuse offenders, increasing the maximum detention time from one to three years, establishing domestic violence courts and requiring Brazilian authorities to institute 24 hour shelters for victims of household domestic abuse. The law specifically states that domestic violence between same-sex partners and domestic abuse perpetrated by woman towards a man in a heterosexual relationship also constitute punishable crime. Additionally, the law provides protective measures to the victim, empowering judges to temporary restraining orders. In February 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Maria da Penha law, ruling that prosecutors “may bring domestic violence cases regardless of whether the victim presses charges or not.”
Implementation
Supportive response
With the implementation of the Maria da Penha Law, Brazil arguably has one of the most progressive pieces of legislation addressing domestic violence in Latin America. According to the Institute of Applied Economic Research, the Lei Maria da Penha has had a positive impact in reducing domestic violence against women in Brazil, with their study showing a 10% decrease in projected domestic homicides rates since 2006. While statistical evidence supports the positive impacts of the law in Brazil, many in Brazil still feel more must be done to address high levels of domestic violence in the country.
Critical response
Those critical of the effectiveness of the law point to failures in the law's implementation. Speaking to these concerns, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch, Maria Laura Canineu said, “ The Maria da Penha law was a major step forward, but more than a decade later, implementation remains woefully inadequate throughout much of the country.” More specifically, these shortcomings include the failure of police to follow procedure when a woman reports an incident of violence, the practice of demanding women undergo invasive medical procedures to prove abuse, the lack of a private space for the victim to share a testimony, and the failure to carry out protection orders against offenders. Additionally, political turmoil in Brazil has defunded many government programs protecting domestic violence victims, specifically women of color from low socio-economic classes who are already denied access to adequate health and legal services. This is also observed in limited access to the special units established by the law; most special units are located only in major Brazilian cities, isolating women in rural areas of the country and causing them to travel long distances for help. In addition to the logistical issues that remain, the culture of machismo in Brazil continues to stand as a major barrier for women seeking justice. "Crimes that occurred inside the house are, in general, consider less serious than those committed in the public sphere. The cultural acceptance of domestic violence aggravated this problem.” da Penha herself has been outspoken and critical about the effectiveness of the law, stating, “The problem is not the law but in its application…”
