Maria da Penha Law turns 19 this Thursday

The figures of the last public security yearbook, released last month, exposed a painful contrast to the massacre scenario of Brazilian women in the context of domestic violence. On the one hand, the number of crimes does not stop growing. On the other, the country has a legislation considered “exemplary” to curb and prevent these crimes: the which turns 19 on Thursday (7). Taking the law out of the “role”, however, is still a challenge. According to researchers heard by Agência Brasil, the effectiveness of the legislation requires implementation of public policies for concrete actions to occur as expected: with integrated measures to prevent violence and a special system of care for women.

Massacre

The current scenario, however, can be scruttered with the numbers of the last security yearbook: there are four and more than 10 attempts at murder every day. In 80% of cases, the aggressor was a partner or former partner of the victim. At least 121 of the deaths in the last two years have occurred when the victim was tailored to the urgent protective. This information, first released in a yearbook, is one of the most symbolic data of the difficulty of the government to avoid further deaths. In fact, of the 555,000 protective measures granted last year (which were 88% of those requested), at least 101,656 were breached by the aggressors.

Protective measures

Researcher in Law and Sociology, Isabella Matosinhos, from the Brazilian Public Security Forum, believes that urgent protective measures, guaranteed by the “advanced” Maria da Penha Law, allow a rapid application and may be able to save lives. The main instrument that the Maria da Penha Law brings, however, has not been effective, in Isabella’s opinion. “Public policies need to look at the cases in which it is infringed, where you cannot prevent a situation of violence and protect a woman. This is the challenge: looking at the cases where the protective measure is ineffective.”

A Urgently is a mechanism provided for in the Maria da Penha Law since 2006. In 2019, it changed to allow the police authority to grant these measures. Until then, it was only the judiciary that could make the concession. The researcher also contextualizes that data on non -compliance and death of women when they should be protected may be undernotified as not all states send the information.

Therefore, the law alone cannot change the scenario. Last year, Brazil recorded at least two calls per minute related to domestic violence. Network care, as provided for in the law, would guarantee the reception of multiple sectors for women, such as health and social assistance services, in addition to the issue of public safety. “It is very difficult for the integrated functioning of these networks,” says Isabella Matosinhos. She adds that one of the police roles would be more rigorously maintaining the daily supervision of the aggressors to prevent them from approaching women.

Network performance

Researcher at the Center for Crime and Public Security Studies, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Professor Amanda Lagreca, who also acted in the public security yearbook, considers that public policies have to be carried out and implemented considering the complexity that involves the reality of Brazilian women. “This matters because institutions should actually implement this law. The public power needs to think how social assistance, the police and the criminal justice system itself are implementing the legislation,” Amanda points out.

According to the researchers, in the capitals this strategy would work better for services. But inside, the challenges are greater: “There must be investment from the state, the municipalities, for this network to be sustained,” says Isabella. Both point out that violence against women affect victims of all social classes and regions. However, they point out that, according to the public security yearbook itself, 63.6% of the victims were black women, and 70.5% between 18 and 44 years. “Most of them are killed indoors by men. Young and black women end up being the main hit,” says Isabella.

Change of conscience

Researchers argue that the Maria da Penha Law promotes a complete look for prevention through possible protective measures, ranging from the restriction of contact with the victim, and may also include the participation of the aggressor in reflective groups. “It is very important in the educational sense. But we have also seen a tendency in the legislation of ‘facing’ the problem with increased penalties. However, we need to move further into public policies,” warns the researcher at UFMG.

Amanda Lagreca recognizes the fact that the Maria da Penha Law was born of civil society demands and is a milestone in framing violence against women as a violation of human rights. Today a struggle of society and public power is to occupy spaces of influence, such as schools, and other educational environments to teach boys or boys that society does not tolerate violence against women. “It is a law, the result of a fight, which has almost two decades and has been recognized, even by the UN, as one of the most important in the world and a model to be followed in the fight against violence against women,” says Amanda Lagreca. One of the advances of updating of the law was to consider psychological violence as a form of aggression.

Service

To request the protective measure, there must be a history of violence. Preventing the first violence involves a cultural change. Researchers consider that the law emerged at an important moment in the history of Brazil, with the advancement of women’s rights. “This worsening gender violence is the great bottleneck of Brazilian democracy, with regard to women. They die because they are women. The use of the Maria da Penha Law will remain an instrument of combat,” concludes Amanda.

*With information from Valéria Luizette and Agência Brasil

*Report produced with the aid of AI