Femicides on the rise in Brazil

Brasilia, February 17 (RHC)-- Cases of femicide and other crimes motivated by gender are leaving two thousand children orphaned in Brazil today, according to a study by the Brazilian Public Security Forum.

This scourge creates a parallel drama: that of children who lose their mother to violence and their father to prison.  The study shows that emotional consequences of these losses often accompany the children throughout their lives, warns the news portal R7, which describes what happened to Yasmim and Larissa, Ana Lucia's daughters.

The Brazilian Ministry of Justice runs a public policy program for orphans of domestic violence.  Daniele Alcântara, coordinator of policies for the prevention of crimes against women and vulnerable groups at the National Secretariat of Public Security, said that a woman is assaulted in Brazil every two minutes.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, 120 thousand cases of bodily injury were reported, resulting from domestic aggression.  The Brazilian study also shows that the main attackers have some kind of link with the victim -- be it an ex-partner, a partner or a parent. 

Many of the women who were killed over the past year, the study reveals, were constantly threatened or coerced.  The aggressors feel legitimized and believe they have justification to kill, blaming the victim.

The United Nations claims that the most common incitements of violent men involve feelings of possession of the woman, control over her body, desire and autonomy, limitation of her emancipation (professional, economic, social or intellectual) and contempt for her gender status.