Brazil’s tough laws on violence against women stymied by social norms

Melanie Hargreaves – The Guardian, 5/12/2015

As the negotiations continue towards agreeing a set of sustainable development goals (SDGs) to come into effect next year, tackling gender inequality remains high on the agenda.

The current draft of the SDGs contains a standalone goal on the issue, which includes a specific target to “eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation”.

It’s a welcome move – and certainly more hard-hitting than the gender equality requirements of the millennium development goals, which saw donor countries target aid at education and health in developing countries, while ignoring other areas crucial to women’s rights, such as countering gender-based violence.

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Brazil falls nine positions in ranking of gender equality [PORTUGUESE]

BBC Brasil, 10/28/2014

Brazil fell nine positions in gender equality rankings released by the “Global Economic Forum,” a group known for their meetings in Davos, Switzerland. The country now appears at 71st on the list, when it used to be 62nd.

The organization evaluated the differences between men and women in terms of health, education, economy, and political indicators in 142 countries. Iceland ranks first, followed by other Nordic countries.

Despite having kept equal health and education levels for both men and women, Brazil fell in the rankings that measure female participation in the economy and politics. The largest drop occurred in the evaluations that considered wages and female participation and leadership in the labor market.

Read more [in PORTUGUESE]…

Fury at Brazil job seeker pap smears, virginity tests

AP – The Sydney Morning Herald, 8/9/2014

Women seeking education jobs in Brazil’s most populous state should not be required to submit to gynaecological exams or prove their virginity, according to women’s rights advocates.

The education department of Sao Paulo state requires female prospective teachers to undergo a pap smear to prove they are free of a variety of cancers, or to present a doctor’s statement verifying they have not been sexually active.

Until recently, it also required women to have a colposcopy, a type of visual examination used to detect disease.

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Brazil Might Not Be As Bad As Brazilians Think

Kenneth Rapoza – Forbes, 7/30/2014

Some good news on Brazil for a change.

Even though the country slipped in a recent social inclusion index, now trailing arch-rival Argentina, Brazil has a lot to be proud about.

Brazil ranks eighth in the Americas Society/Council on the Americas (ASCOA) annual social inclusion index, down from fifth place last year. But the only truly racially and socio-economically diverse country ahead of it is the United States. Uruguay remains No. 1, but is a small, homogeneous society. Argentina ranks high only because ASCOA considers social spending to be sacrosanct, and is one of the most important indicators for social inclusion. Argentina spends around 10.4% on social programs compared to Brazil’s 9.9%, which is not to say that Brazil’s are less effective.

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Brazil targets sex tourism before the World Cup

Vincent Bevins –  The Los Angeles Times, 4/26/2014

Between a cluster of bars in this small coastal town, middle-aged European men hover around dozens of fresh-faced Brazilian women in tight dresses.

Around the corner, two girls who look to be in their teens flag down cars, signaling their availability to potential clients.

Most such activity, however, seems confined to a small, seedy tourist strip, the last gasp of a bygone era.

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Healing the scars of Brazil’s domestic violence victims

Marina Estarque – Deutsche Welle, 4/21/2014

The beatings and the cuts are burnt into Jaqueline Santos Oliveira’s skin. Her scars remind her of the violence she experienced at the hands of her partner. But that’s not the end of the trauma: the stigma associated with her scars continue to haunt her in public. People look at her strangely, she says.

According to figures from the authorities, every second Brazilian woman has been subject to domestic violence in their lifetime. In 70 percent of the cases the violence comes from the husbands or partners of the victims.

In Sao Paulo, the Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery (SBCP) has now teamed up with the non-governmental organization “The Bridge” to offer victims of domestic violence an opportunity to receive free plastic surgery. Jaqueline Santos Oliveira and Roseneide Fernandes da Silva were two of the first women to receive treatment under the plan.

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Brazil’s government gives money to women because “they’re more reliable”

Olga Khazan – The Atlantic, 4/8/2014

Brazil, as you might have heard from dozens of think pieces, has a “rising middle class.” And one of the factors credited with pulling millions of Brazilians out of poverty is Bolsa Família, a 10-year-old, conditional cash-transfer program that rewards families for sending their kids to school and taking them to regular health check-ups.

Bolsa’s terms, by American standards, are pretty radical: Every month, 50 million poor parents, or a quarter of the country’s population, get a handout equal to about $35 to $70, plus more for additional children.

And I do mean “handout.” They don’t pay it back. It doesn’t run out. Recipients don’t have to prove they’re looking for work.

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“Nobody deserves to be raped” campaign responds to shocking Brazilian survey

Terrence Mccoy – The Washington Post, 4/3/2014

There are few statistics more jarring than this one: According to a survey released late last week, 65.1 percent of Brazilians think that if a woman is “dressed provocatively,” she deserves to be “attacked and raped.” Here’s another one: 59 percent of the 3,810 respondents across 212 cities said that if a Brazilian woman “knew how to behave,” there would be fewer rapes.

And then there’s this: More than two-thirds of the respondents were women.

News of the Institute for Applied Economic Research survey fueled an existing movement and unleashed a tidal wave of new outrage. It crested with the hashtag #ninguemMereceSerEstuprada — “nobody deserves to be raped” — and crashed across all forms of social media. Many tweeted photographs as emotive as they were triumphant. Depicting women in various states of undress, they juxtaposed sensuality with strength. Some women were topless, expressions austere, clutching a poster condemning the survey’s results.

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“Zero tolerance for violence against women,” declares President Dilma on Twitter after IPEA report

Felipe Tau- Estado de S. Paulo, 3/28/2014

President Dilma Rousseff commented on a study released by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) about the perception of Brazilians on violence and discrimination against women. A day after the research was published, showing that 65% percent of those interviewed believe abuse against women using short clothes is acceptable, the President categorically stated, “zero tolerance towards women #Respect.”

Read article in Portuguese here. 

Brazil’s cash transfer scheme a source of empowerment for women

Jonathan Watts – The Guardian, 12/18/2013

Maria da Paz and her three daughters live high on the slopes of Rocinha, just beyond the boundary line between Rio de Janeiro’s biggest favela and the world’s largest urban forest.

Geographically mirroring their social position, the family’s small brick home is on the periphery of the periphery – dangerously close to the landslide zone and discomfortingly distant from roads, shops and social services.

During a recent storm, the roof collapsed; their home was flooded and they were forced to evacuate. The same thing happens about 10 times every year. That’s not their only terror. Three months ago, they were robbed of their pots, pans and other meagre possessions. Last week, a nine-year-old neighbour was raped and murdered a few alleys away.

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