Cecília Jorge
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - A telephone exchange inaugurated today (25) to answer complaints of violence against women and orient and direct the victims to specialized services should receive two hundred calls a day. This is the expectation of the minister of the Special Secretariat of Women's Policies, Nilcéa Freire, who participated in the inauguration of telephone number 180.

Over 189 thousand Brazilian females over the age of 10 were hospitalized last year for problems related to violence. According to the minister of Health, Saraiva Felipe, fractures, dislocations, and traumas to various parts of the body, including the skull, are among the most chief causes of these hospitalizations.

The 180 telephone service is operating all over the country. The call is free, and the identity of the victim and the person who calls in the complaint will be kept secret. The receptionists, all of whom are psychologists or students concluding psychology courses, will provide guidance on how the victim can protect herself from her assailant. Victims will also be informed about their legal rights and where to seek help, in such places as police precincts for women, public defender's offices, health posts, forensic institutes in rape cases, and shelters.

The inauguration of the service marks the start of the campaign, Your Life Begins Over When Violence Ends, a federal government initiative that is part of the activities to commemorate International Non-Violence Against Women Day (November 25).

11% of Brazilian women have already been victims of beatings. This finding is part of a Perseu Abramo Foundation study of 61.5 milllion women. The percentage represents a total of 6.8 million women. The survey also indicates that one in every five women has been a victim of aggression at least once. The study points out, moreover, that 56% of the beatings are inflicted by husbands or companions. Over half of the victims do not seek help.

Translation: David Silberstein