With the change, hatred against women becomes a serious crime with a penalty of up to five years in prison; text goes to the Chamber of Deputies
O Senate approvedthis Tuesday (24), the bill that equates misogyny with racism. In practice, this means that hatred or aversion to women is no longer treated as a minor offense and becomes considered a crime gravewith punishment of two to five years in prison, in addition to a fine.
Currently, acts of misogyny are often framed as injury or defamationcrimes that have short sentences (from two months to one year) and which rarely result in arrest. With the new proposal, the “condition of women” falls within the discrimination criteria of the Racism Lawalongside race, color, ethnicity and religion.
The proposal, authored by Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PSB-MA) and reported by Senator Soraya Thronicke (Podemos-MS), appears as response to the increase in gender-based violence. During the vote, Soraya reported that, only in 2025, Brazil registered almost 7 thousand femicide attempts.
The senators highlighted that hatred against women has grown in an organized way, especially on the internetthrough groups that encourage contempt and dehumanization of the female public. “Hate against women is not abstract: it is structured and takes lives every day,” said Soraya.
Understand the concepts
During the debate, the rapporteur reinforced the difference between terms that create confusion in everyday life:
Misogyny: Hatred, contempt or extreme aversion to women;
Feminism: Movement that seeks equal rights and opportunities between men and women;
Femism: Ideology that defends the superiority of women over men (the opposite of machismo).
Next steps
The project was approved with 67 votes in favor e no contrary. Despite full support in the vote, there were debates about freedom of expression. Some parliamentarians expressed concern that the law could punish religious or artistic opinions. However, the rapporteur explained that the Constitution already guarantees freedom of expressionbut this cannot serve as a shield for hate speech and discrimination.
Now, the project goes to the Chamber of Deputies. If approved without changes by deputies, it will be sanctioned by President Lula (PT) to become law.
*With information from Agência Senado
