The government will implement the Maria da Penha Law throughout the country.

Elaine Patricia Cruz
Reporter from Agência Brasil

São Paulo - By the end of President Dilma Rousseff's term, the Secretariat for Policies for Women hopes to successfully implement the Maria da Penha Law throughout the country. This was stated on Monday evening, the 14th, by Minister Eleonora Menicucci, after participating in an event at the São Paulo City Hall.

"It would be irresponsible to give a date, but I want the Maria da Penha Law to be implemented in all municipalities of this country by the end of President Dilma's term. And we are sparing no effort to achieve this: we are renegotiating the agreements to combat violence against women, which now have national guidelines and accountability requirements; in other words, if it is not implemented, the funding will not be received," said the minister.

According to her, the implementation of the Maria da Penha Law, which creates mechanisms to curb violence against women and increases the severity of punishments for assaults against women when they occur in the domestic or family sphere, is a major challenge for the current government. "The implementation of the Maria da Penha Law implies the creation of a strong network of services for women. [Today] there are only five shelters [for women] in the city of São Paulo. At a minimum, there should be one for each subdistrict of the municipality," said the minister.

According to the minister, the difficulties in implementing the law also involve better training for professionals who will respond to cases of violence against women and a change in societal mindset that, according to her, is already occurring in the country.

"In addressing violence, we need training for all professionals in the health and public safety fields to assist women. Today, I don't think people say that women provoke violence. There has been a change in mentality, so much so that when we proposed harsher punishments for aggressors and rapists, society accepted it," she said. Another challenge that the federal government intends to face, the minister said, is ensuring that health facilities for women are open 24 hours a day, every day.

Regarding violence against women, the minister said it is an issue that occurs worldwide and cited two recent cases of rape that took place on a bus in India. "It's not the fact that it happened in India. If we look at São Paulo, the other day I came across the news of a 12-year-old girl confined in a house in Morumbi to be sexually exploited, and she escaped. And she was all bruised. What's the difference between that and [what happened in] India?" the minister questioned.

According to Eleonora, the Brazilian government has expressed its solidarity with the families and victims of the violence in India, but not in a formal way. "There is no formality. Formality would only exist in a statement within a unified system. And the unified system has not yet taken a position, although in the speech of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [of the United Nations], he has expressed full solidarity. I myself and the federal government have expressed solidarity with the Indian women and the families of the victims."

This afternoon (14), in São Paulo, the minister participated in an event promoted by the Municipal Secretariat for Women's Policies of São Paulo, which proposed a first dialogue between the new administration and social movements. During the event, several female leaders praised the appointment of Denise Dau to head the new secretariat, which was created this year and needs to be approved by the City Council. The leaders proposed some suggestions and ideas that should be worked on at the municipal level regarding rights and public policies aimed at women.

"I was more than enthusiastic. I was the driving force behind the creation of this secretariat. I have no shame in saying that. Before, there was only a coordinating body. And what's the difference? A coordinating body doesn't have its own resources, neither human nor financial. And the secretariat has its own resources and positions. And it discusses matters on equal terms with all the secretaries," said the minister.