Brazil Advances Feminicide Prevention as a Strategic State Policy
Brazil emphasizes institutional and societal commitments to prevent feminicide through the National Pact and calls for active legal and cultural change.
- • Brazil ranks 5th globally in feminicide with over 1,400 victims last year.
- • The National Pact Against Feminicide seeks a systemic, strategic approach to prevention.
- • Sustained funding and integrated data among justice and social sectors are essential.
- • Political gender violence and intimidation impede women’s democratic participation.
- • Active legal enforcement and cultural change are necessary to break the violence cycle.
Key details
Brazil confronts a severe feminicide crisis, ranking fifth globally in women's murders, with over 1,400 victims recorded in the past year—averaging four attacks daily, according to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. This alarming reality underscores a broader systemic failure in state protection and social networks. In response, the National Pact Against Feminicide has been launched to frame feminicide not as isolated incidents but as a predictable phenomenon requiring comprehensive, strategic intervention.
The Pact advocates for sustained government funding, integrated data sharing across justice, health, social assistance, and public safety institutions, and a crucial cultural transformation that targets early warning signs of violence. Central to this strategy is the recognition that feminicide is a structural issue demanding active participation from all sectors of society, including men, to foster lasting change. Prevention is championed as a more cost-effective and ethical approach compared to remediation, emphasizing the political responsibility to protect lives proactively.
Echoing this urgency, Piracicaba City Councilwoman Rai de Almeida highlighted the pervasive violence women face, including political gender violence manifested through verbal aggression, moral attacks, and attempts to intimidate women in power. She stressed that such actions must be legally addressed as crimes to break the cycle of escalating violence that culminates in feminicide. Almeida called for elected women to perform their mandates free from fear, framing this safety as essential to democracy.
Almeida further emphasized the role of public institutions and society in embracing the National Pact’s commitments, urging local legislative bodies to foster respect for diversity and protection for women, and to actively engage in initiatives combating feminicide. She declared that silence in the face of violence constitutes complicity, reinforcing the necessity of institutional dialogue and accountability.
Brazil’s push to institutionalize feminicide prevention as state policy marks a critical ethical and political decision point, aiming to transform societal attitudes and governance practices to safeguard women’s lives and democracy itself.
This article was translated and synthesized from Brazilian sources, providing English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
