Brazil. Domestic violence and intimate partner sexual violence

If you are in danger now, assess whether you need emergency help

01. Call the Police

— How to call the police?

Report the incident. There are Specialized Police Stations for Women, with professionals trained to serve women victims of violence. However, it is possible to file a complaint at any Police Station or at the Public Defender’s Office. You can call the number 181 – Crime Reporting Hotline. Call 100: Human Rights Violations Hotline

You can also report domestic violence situations through the Women’s Hotline (Central de Atendimento à Mulher) by calling the number 180. The complaint is anonymous and free, available 24/7, nationwide.

— Do I need documents/being registered in the country to call the police?

Yes, you need to have documents to call the police.

— When I call the police, what language should I speak?

Portuguese, Spanish or English.

— Do authorities have to provide me with a translator if I do not speak the local language? If yes, where is it stipulated and how can I ask for a translator?

Yes, the authorities can provide you with the translation if you don’t speak local language. The law of Maria de Penha has the provisions for this.

— Can I say that I am a victim of domestic violence? Authorities’ formal and informal attitudes towards victims of domestic violence.

Yes, you should say that you are the victim of domestic violence. Such cases are taken serious by authorities.

— Will the police remove the perpetrator from the house? For how long?

The Maria da Penha Law provides both civil and criminal measures for victims of domestic violence (chapter II of Law No. 11,340/2006). For instance, the law provides the following protective measures in regard to the abuser: (i) the removal of the abuser from the location that the victim lives; (ii) the requirement that the abuser refrain from contacting the victim and her family; (iii) limiting access to public or private places that the victim might be found; (iv) restriction or suspension of visits to children; and (v) attendance of the abuser at recovery and re-education programs.

Moreover, the victim may also be granted protective measures, such as: (i) referral of the victim and her children to an official or community protection or assistance protective program; (ii) writs of prevention of separation from bed and board; (iii) registration of the victim’s children in an education institution closest to their home; (iv) restitution for property unduly taken away by the abuser from the victim; and (v) suspension of any powers of attorney granted by the victim to the abuser.

— Are there any restraining orders/ no contact orders etc.? How do they work?

Yes. The Brazilian Law, by means of the Maria da Penha Law establishes civil protection orders for domestic violence victims. The victim or the public prosecution can ask for a protection order. Anyone who witnesses domestic abuse can also file a complaint.

— What can I do if the order is violated?

Violation of the measures/orders by the abuser is a crime with a penalty of imprisonment of two months up to three years plus other applicable penalties.

— What evidence is needed to bring a case against the abuser and prosecute? Does there have to be physical evidence?

Usually proof is required in cases of domestic violence (such as witness and medical reports, among others). However, there have been decisions by the superior court in Brazil where, to fit aggression against women within the concept of domestic violence established by the Maria da Penha Law (Law 11.340/06), it is enough that the fact occurred as a result of a romantic relationship between the victim and the aggressor.

02. Get medical help

—  How to get medical help?

In case of urgency or emergency, contact:

• Emergency Care Unit (UPA): these units provide basic medical care 24 hours a day, every day.
• Hospitals and Emergency Room (ER): some of these units are open 24 hours a day, every day. These units offer medical assistance to more complex cases, including hospitalization.
• Call an ambulance, dial 192.

Look for the medical centers closest to your residence at CONECTE SUS. On the website, you will find all the medical services closest to your home.

— When I call the ambulance, what language should I speak?

Portuguese, Spanish or English.

— Do I need money/documents/being registered in the country to get medical help?

Public healthcare is provided to all Brazilian permanent residents and foreigners in Brazilian territory through the National Healthcare System, known as the Unified Health System (Portuguese: Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS). The SUS is universal and free for everyone.

— Legislation punishing domestic and intimate partner sexual violence?

Law No. 11,340/2006/Maria da Penha Law.

Aims to prevent, punish and eradicate domestic violence and grant protection to victims, as follows:

• classifies and defines domestic violence as physical, psychological, sexual, patrimonial and moral violence
• establishes protective measures for victims of violence in the workplace, either public or private
• defines the procedure of attendance of victims of domestic violence in specialized police stations, such as providing the necessary medical services;
• establishes the creation of specialized courts and police stations for domestic violence matters
• prohibits the punishment for domestic violence to be restricted to fines or other forms of financial payments
• establishes protective measures such as removal of the offender from the home and suspension of visits by the offender to their children
• establishes the crime of violating protection orders. The penalty is three months to two years of imprisonment.
• creates the ability for a victim of domestic violence to leave the workplace for up to six months due to domestic violence issues
• establishes that the victim has the option of filing for divorce or dissolving a stable union in the court of domestic and family violence against women
• establishes that whoever, by action or omission, causes injury by physical, sexual or psychological violence or moral or patrimonial damage to the woman must reimburse all damages caused, including reimbursement to the Unified Health System (SUS), according to the SUS table, of the costs related to the health services provided for the total treatment of the victim.

Criminal Procedure Code of 1941 (including related amendments in 2011, 2016, 2017 and 2018).

Establishes procedures for criminal offenses:

• In cases of domestic violence, it establishes the possibility of the offender’s provisional arrest to guarantee the effectiveness of protective measures ordered in favor of the victim.
• In cases of domestic violence, the evidence collection will take priority over other technical exams.
• Only women can carry out a strip search of anotherwoman.
• It is prohibited to put handcuffs on pregnant women who are receiving medical/hospital treatment in preparation for childbirth or after.
• Home confinement is permissible as a substitution for the provisional arrest (before the trial) if the woman is pregnant or has a child up to 12 years old as long as she is not accused of violent crime/crime committed by serious threat or a crime against her children or any person who depends on her

Criminal Code, Article 121, (introduced by Law No. 13,104/2015).

Sets special punishment for killing women exclusively because of their gender. A crime qualifies if the crime (i) involves domestic or family violence or (ii) disregard or discrimination against a person based on the fact that they are a woman. The established penalty is 12 to 30 years of imprisonment.

Criminal Code, Article 215 (introduced by Law No. 12,015/2009).

Establishes the crime of sexual violation through fraud: the conduct of practicing sexual acts through fraud or any means that hinder the victim’s free will. The established penalty is two to six years of imprisonment.

Criminal Code, Article 215- A (introduced by Law No. 13,718/2018).

Establishes the crime of sexual harassment: the conduct of practicing any libidinous act without consent to satisfy his/her own or a third party’s lust. The established penalty is one to five years of imprisonment.

Criminal Code, Article 129, §9º and 10 (introduced by Law No. 11,340/2006).

If bodily injury occurs in the context of domestic violence, the penalties will be increased.

Criminal Code, Article 61 introduced by Law No. 11,340/2006).

Establishes that for any crime committed (i) against pregnant women, (ii) under the circumstance of domestic relations, cohabitation or hospitality, and (iii) that involves violence against women as determined by a specific law, the punishment will be more severe.

Law No. 13,715/2018.

Establishes the loss of “family power” (poder familiar) for the offender who commits feminicide (feminicídio), which means killing women, homicide or causes serious personal injury against a spouse, daughter or any other descendant.

Article 9, paragraph 2, Law No. 11,340/2009.

Provides that the judge may extend the employment relationship for six months if a victim has to be on leave due to domestic violence. In September 2019, the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice rendered one precedent extending the “sick leave allowance” to the women on the mentioned situation.

03. List of local (N)GOs who can help victims of domestic and sexual violence?

— List of local (N)GOs who can help victims of domestic and sexual violence

Department for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights of the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights

Telephones: (61) 2027-3152 and (61) 2027-3993

E-mails:  witness@mdh.gov.br and depddh@mdh.gov.br

Opening hours: from 8 am to 6 pm

This is a service of the Ministry of Women, Family and Human Rights . In case of doubts, complaints or suggestions, please contact him.

The Women’s Assistance Center  

Call 180 provides qualified listening and assistance to women in situations of violence. The service registers and forwards complaints of violence against women to the competent bodies, as well as complaints, suggestions or compliments about the functioning of the assistance services.

The service also provides information on women’s rights, such as the closest and most appropriate places of assistance for each case: Casa da Mulher Brasileira, Reference Centers, Delegacias de Atendimento à Mulher (Deam), Public Defenders’ Offices, Integrated Centers for Assistance to Women, among others.

The call is free and the service operates 24 hours a day, every day of the week. All people who call reporting events of violence against women are answered.

Link 180 serves the entire national territory and can also be accessed in other countries.

MARIA DA PENHA INSTITUTE

The Maria da Penha Institute aims to contribute and strengthen mechanisms to curb and prevent domestic and family violence against women, according to art. 1 of Law no. 11,340/2006. For this, we count on the support of organized civil society and institutions committed to their role as a social transformer.  And the role of the Maria da Penha Institute in this context is to stimulate and contribute to the full application of the law, as well as to monitor the implementation and development of best practices and public policies for its fulfillment, promoting the construction of a society without domestic violence and family against the woman.

Contact numbers: +55 85 4102 5429, +55 85 98897 6096

E-mail: atendimento@institutomariadapenha.org.br

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