Daisy Nascimento
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - Brazil tops the world ranking of violence against women. According to a study conducted by the International Victimology Society, the number of women who are victims of violence in the country runs as high as 25%, and 70% of female homicide victims are murdered by their own husbands. The data also reveal that, on the average, women only report the violence after the tenth act of aggression.

Federal Deputy Jandira Feghali (PCdoB-RJ), the reporter of a bill that deals with the prevention and punishment of violence, is holding public hearings in various states to gather data to help in the preparation of the final report. She proposes more rigorous sentences for the aggressors and the creation of a specialized court for domestic family violence.

The Deputy said that the project also provides for the inclusion of discussions on domestic violence in the school curriculum and the training of teachers so they can undertake preventive work to decrease the school dropout phenomenon that affects the majority of children who come from violent homes. "We must treat the children, protect women, and rehabilitate and punish the aggressors. We must create a new awareness in society of relations of respect and dignity and non-aggression against women," she pointed out.

There will be a seminar on this topic in Brasília in August. Only then will the bill be voted in the Social Security Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and sent to the Senate. Feghali wants the law to be signed on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Translation: David Silberstein