Around the world, across geography, language, race, religion and
culture, domestic violence is all too often defended in the name of law,
culture, tradition, or just life. The numbers are staggering. In the
United States, a woman is battered every 15 seconds.1 In India, 40 percent of adult women reported physical assaults by a male partner.2 In Sweden, one of every six murders is committed by a man murdering his partner.3 In Nicaragua, nearly thirty percent of women reported partner abuse.4 In South Africa, one women is killed approximately every six days by her male partner. (People Opposing Women Abuse) 38 percent of Korean women reported battering by their spouse in the past year.5
Inadequate government response to domestic violence occurs with striking
regularity around the world. Domestic violence claims are frequently
ignored, trivialized, and dismissed by police, by prosecutors and by
judges. The situation in Brazil, like many other countries, is one in
which domestic violence is against the law, but in practice is
regularly tolerated. In Brazil, according to San Pablo Catholic
University, only 2 percent of criminal complaints for domestic violence
against women lead to conviction of the aggressor. The following case
is illustrative of the state response to domestic violence in Brazil.
Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes suffered years of violence perpetrated by
her husband Marco Antonio Heredia Viveiros. On May 29, 1983, he shot
his wife while she was sleeping. As a result of the attack, Ms
Fernandes sustained serious injuries including permanent paraplegia.
Two weeks after she returned from the hospital, Mr. Viveiros attempted
to kill Ms. Fernandes by electrocuting her while she was bathing.
In 1984, the Public Prosecutor filed charges against Mr.Viveiros. The
case languished for eight years before Mr, Viveiros was found guilty and
sentenced to fifteen years in prison, reduced to ten since he had no
prior convictions. Through a series of appeals and the extremely slow
action of the courts, another four years elapsed before, in 1996, a
second trial was ordered in which he was again convicted and sentenced
to ten years in prison. Further appeals have followed and today, nineteen years
after the near fatal attack, the perpetrator is still free and the
courts have not yet issued a final ruling. Ms. Fernandes, on the other
hand, requires full time nursing care, medication, and physical
therapy. She receives no financial support from her ex-husband to cover
these costs nor does she receive the alimony stipulated in the
separation order. In a years time, any punishment will be barred by the
statute of limitations, and if this happens, the perpetrator will enjoy
total impunity.
Ms. Fernandes may finally be able to get justice. The Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), one of the two entities established
by the Organization of American States for the protection of human
rights, reviewed the failure of the Brazilian legal system to rule on
this case in a timely manner. Now, in a landmark ruling, the IACHR is
holding the government of Brazil accountable for its judicial tolerance
of domestic violence in the case of Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes
perpetrated by Marco Antonio Heredia Viveiros.
The Commission determined that, "The failure to prosecute and convict
the perpetrator under these circumstances is an indication that the
state condones the violence suffered by Maria de Penha, and this failure
by the Brazilian courts to take action is exacerbating the direct
consequences of the aggression by her ex-husband....(t)he condoning of
this situation by the entire system only serves to perpetuate the
psychological, social, and historical roots and factors that sustain and
encourage violence against women."
This ruling recognized that Brazil has a responsibility under
international law to take effective action in prosecuting and convicting
perpetrators of domestic violence. Moreover, the decision explicitly
recognized that Brazil's inaction in domestic violence cases represented
a pattern of discrimination. The Commission said what many activists
for women's rights know to be true: government inaction in domestic
violence cases creates a climate conducive to the violence.
The Brazilian legal system failed Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes, as it
fails many other women and girls who are victims of violence. No woman
should wait eighteen years for a ruling in a case of attempted murder.
No perpetrator should be allowed to operate with such impunity that he
remains free for nineteen years while his case languishes in court. Now
the IACHR has intervened to tell the Brazilian government that it is
accountable for its role in perpetuating violence against women by
allowing batterers to act with impunity.
The Inter-American Commission made recommendation to the government of
Brazil calling on them to finalize criminal proceedings against Mr.
Viveiros, and to make the necessary reforms to address the bias in the
legal system against domestic violence victims. Unfortunately,
throughout the process of the Commissions consideration of this case,
the Government of Brazil did not respond and failed to participate in
any way.
Please write to the Minister of Justice in Brazil calling on him to
implement all of the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission
and in particular to complete criminal proceedings against Mr. Viveiros for assault and attempted murder and to compensate the victim.
Express concern that Brazil did not participate in the proceedings of
this case and note that Brazil has an obligation to protect victims of
domestic violence and to prosecute perpetrators.
Please send letters or emails to the following address:
In order to find out more about domestic violence and other forms of violence against women, please contact
Equality Now.
Notes
1. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
2. (UNFPA)
3. (UNFPA)
4. (UNFPA)
5. (Family Violence Prevention Fund)
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