Women protest against the rise in femicide in the Federal District.
In the first two months of 2023, eight cases of femicide were recorded in the Federal District, according to official data.
By Heloisa Cristaldo – Reporter for Agência Brasil - Brasília
The demand for more security for women occupied one of the main avenues of the federal capital this Wednesday (8) with the 8M Unified Women's March DF and Surroundings. Held annually to celebrate International Women's Day, the event featured cultural presentations and a space for self-care.
In the first two months of 2023, eight cases of femicide were registered in the Federal District. According to the Federal District's Public Security Secretariat (SSP-DF), four cases of femicide were registered in the first week of 2023 alone. Throughout last year, 17 women were murdered in the Federal District, victims of femicide. One of the coordinators of Casa Ieda Santos Delgado, Thaís Oliveira, emphasized the lack of shelter spaces for women victims of domestic violence in the nation's capital.
“Today’s march is for those eight women who are no longer here. There has been an increase in the number of femicide cases in the Federal District, and these women died simply for being women. Today is a day to remember the thousands of women whose lives were taken by sexism and fascism,” she stated.
“Domestic violence is a concern, and since last year we have been without a physical space because we were evicted by Governor Ibaneis [Rocha, currently removed from office]. We continue our work in an itinerant way, with partnerships, but requests for support keep coming in,” she added. Casa Ieda Santos Delgado is a reference point for women experiencing domestic violence.
According to Mônica Caldeira, coordinator of the Women's Secretariat of the Teachers' Union of the Federal District (Sinpro-DF), the movement also seeks to raise awareness among the local government for an education system committed to combating gender-based violence.
“We understand that education for a society based on human rights and against sexist manifestations within schools is fundamental. The curriculum must have interdisciplinary content with themes focused on the inclusion of women. It is also essential that there are laws aimed at criminalizing misogyny. We already have laws against racism and pedophilia, but we still need to advance in this direction, because misogyny also kills,” she warned.
For dancer Priscila Assis, 34, the march is a moment to give voice to the anxieties of women around the world. Among the desires she described is the right to have a safe abortion.
“I am a woman and I am directly interested in my rights to exercise real freedom, such as going out alone at night or even having a safe abortion in a hospital,” she stated. “Furthermore, I believe we should demand more public safety measures for women, such as training for police officers. I think there is a lack of infrastructure to assist women when something happens, and there are only male police officers,” she emphasized.
Alongside Priscila, psychologist Clara Barros, 34, reiterated the call for more security and education geared towards women.
“People lack awareness. There was a distortion of what we learned about gender issues during the Bolsonaro government, for example. People need to understand that it is fundamental to talk about sexism,” she said. “I have a daughter and I feel I need to shield her from the violence we experience, but at the same time I need to teach her about safety issues, and I do the same with my husband. All the time I feel I have to teach him to deconstruct the sexism he learned throughout his life,” she said.