Under the shadow of the coup

This year we celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Maria da Penha Law under the shadow of a coup that hijacked not only the 54 million votes that elected Dilma Rousseff, but any possibility of progress in policies to combat violence against women.

The illegitimate government assembled a team of white men, removed the ministerial status of the Special Secretariat for Policies for Women, and has been systematically cutting resources for the area. It has been almost two years since Michel Temer, unelected, occupied the highest office in the country, and the department has already gone through three subordinations: it started in the Ministry of Justice, then moved to the Secretariat of Government, and now it is part of the Ministry of Human Rights.

Beyond this lack of prioritization of this policy, the daily attack on democracy is fertile ground for intolerance, prejudice, and the spread of hate speech and actions. The more we need to strengthen policies to combat violence, the less is invested in them.

In this environment, the Maria da Penha Law, like labor legislation, runs a huge risk of regression. Even more serious is that, in this case, the government will not need to make any effort to promote changes. It can simply starve it to death.

Therefore, as we celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Maria da Penha Law, it is urgent to fight for our democracy and for women's rights. To fight for the implementation of a law that has made all the difference in preventing and combating domestic violence. Before its enactment, women had no incentive to report abuse; on the contrary, 90% of cases under the responsibility of special criminal courts were dismissed or resulted in a plea bargain – food baskets or fines – and the aggressor returned home even more enraged. The fear of seeing their situation worsen further caused women to avoid reporting.

Removing cases of domestic violence against women from the special criminal courts was a great achievement. There was no way to expect effectiveness from a punishment that only worsened the victims' situation, exposing them to more violence. And they remained silent. For themselves and for their children. Fearing to "provoke" the wrath of those for whom justice was lenient. The existence and application of the law have already created a new landmark in the Brazilian justice system; we have already surpassed 1.4 million cases, thousands of arrests in flagrante delicto, and saved more than 300,000 lives. But the data on violence and femicide are still alarming and demonstrate the sexist and patriarchal society in which we live, aggravated by democratic restrictions.

In a country where 2 million women are beaten every year, one every 24 seconds, reversing this situation must be a priority. This will not happen with this escalation of the erosion of rights and the stifling of investments, where the priority is the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of financial capital at the expense of what is best for Brazilian men and women.

Our fight must be daily. No truce in the face of conservative and fascist advances against our rights. Our voice must rise in defense of democracy and what it represents for a society where men and women are equal in rights and duties.