Brazil: Availability of protection to women who are subjected to domestic abuse by present or former husbands, common-law spouses or boyfriends
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | BRA30173.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Brazil: Availability of protection to women who are subjected to domestic abuse by present or former husbands, common-law spouses or boyfriends, 1 October 1998, BRA30173.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acef50.html [accessed 27 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For information on the availability of protection to women who are subjected to domestic abuse by present or former husbands, common-law spouses or boyfriends, please consult the attached excerpt from the United Nations Special Rapporteur 1997 report on the issue of domestic violence in Brazil and an excerpt from the chapter on domestic violence in the 1997 Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Brazil of the Organization of American States (OAS).
According to an Inter Press Service article, Brazil has no law on domestic violence yet. However, "three draft laws are currently shelved in Congress." (23 July 1998). No copy of these draft laws on domestic violence could be obtained for this Response to Information Request.
The article further states that
Statistics on domestic violence are inevitably unreliable and generally underestimate the phenomenon. Women's divisions of police precincts, a successful initiative that has spread in Brazil over the past 10 years, logged 220,000 complaints last year. But 30 percent of the women later returned to retract their complaints. One hurdle hindering victims from seeking assistance and redress is that in many cases they are economically dependent on their aggressors. A Parliamentary inquiry concluded that 88.8 percent of women assaulted in their homes were homemakers with no independent source of income.
According to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, Brazil is listed amongst fifteen other Latin American countries where a man will be acquitted of rape if he offers to marry his victim (7 Aug. 1998).
Please note that BRA15210 of 9 September 1993 and BRA12987 of 2 February 1993 and their attachments provide information and statistics on violent crime and rape crisis centres in Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Inter Press Service (IPS). 23 July 1998. Mario Osava. "Rights-Brazil: Home-Not Always So Sweet For Women And Children." (NEXIS)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 7 August 1998. Silvana Paternostro. "With Protectors Like This, Where Can Latin Women Feel Safe?" (NEXIS)
Attachments
Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Brazil. 1997. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Washington, D.C.: General Secretariat Organization of American States, pp. 134-142.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy. Addendum: Report on the Mission of the Special Rapporteur to Brazil on the Issue of Domestic Violence (15-26 July 1996).1997. UN. Commission on Human Rights, New York, NY: United Nations, pp. 1-35.
Additional Sources Consulted
Brazil: Human Rights Violations and the Health Professions. 1996. London: Amnesty International.
Criminal Injustice: Violence Against Women in Brazil. 1991. Thomas, Dorothy Q.; Roth, Ken. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch
From Basic Needs to Basic Rights: Women's Claim to Human Rights.1995. Schuler, Margaret A.; Butegwa, Florence; Thomas, Dorothy Q.; O'Neil, Maureen; Lamarche, Lucie [...et al]. Washington, DC: Institute for Women, Law and Development.
Human Rights Watch Global Report on Women's Human Rights. 1995. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch.
Latin American Regional Reports: Brazil Report [London]. 1998.
"Viva": Women and Popular Protest in Latin America (IN: International studies of women and place. unn.). 1993. Radcliffe, Sarah A.; Westwood, Sallie; Schirmer, Jennifer; García-Guadilla, María Pilar; Vieira Machado, Leda María [...et al]. London: Routledge.
Women and Violence: Realities and Responses Worldwide. 1994. Davies, Miranda; Bradley, Christine; Thomas, Dorothy Q.; Narasimhan, Sakuntala; Beasley, Michele [...et al]. London: Zed Books Ltd.
Electronic Sources: IRB Databases, Global News Bank, Internet, REFWORLD, World News Connection (WNC).
