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Puzzles of women's rights in Brazil

Social Research, Fall, 2002 by Mala Htun

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Brazil has had, arguably, Latin America's earliest and largest second-wave feminist movement. From small groups of women who met in Brazil's largest cities to discuss sexuality, feminist theory, and gender oppression, the movement grew to develop a large middle-class base and extensive connections to popular women's movements in the 1980s (Alvarez, 1990). In the 1990s, the feminist movement created several national and international networks to advocate for women's rights. The Articulacao das Mulheres Brasileiras (Brazilian Women's Articulation), for example, was created to organize the feminist movement's preparation and follow up to the 1995 Beijing Women's Conference. The Articulacao links women's organizations in Brazil's 26 states and federal district. The Feminist Center for Studies and Advising (CFEMEA), the feminist lobby located in the capital city of Brasilia (see www.cfemea.org.br), provides advice to women in Congress, circulates an excellent monthly newsletter, tracks the progress of all women's rights legislation, conducts research projects, and organizes meetings and exchanges involving women's groups from all over the country. Other Brazilian feminist NGOs have, among other activities, worked to educate women on their legal rights, have provided family planning and sex education services, and have trained police officers and judges to better handle cases of violence against women.

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Brazilian feminists have also worked with state officials to pioneer some of Latin America's most advanced legislation and innovative mechanisms to advance women's rights. Soon after the return to democracy, women in the National Council for Women's Rights (CNDM) organized to include progressive changes in the reform of the Brazilian constitution. (2) The CNDM organized seminars and public forums throughout Brazil, where lawyers, feminists, legislators, and the general public analyzed women's legal situation and formulated proposals for the constitution (CNDM, 1986). The CNDM staged demonstrations around the country, held a sit-in at the Congress in Brasilia, and offered support to the 26 female legislators into what became known as the "Lipstick Lobby" (a bancada do batom) in order to press feminist demands. According to the CNDM's former president, 80 percent of the women's movement's proposals were included in the final constitutional text (Pitanguy, 1996: 70) (see table 2).

The first women's police stations in the world were created in the early 1980s in the state of Sao Paulo. Since then, women's police stations have been established in the rest of Brazil and other countries of Latin America. By 2000, there were over 250 women's police stations in the country. Created to facilitate the reporting, investigation, and prosecution of cases of domestic violence and rape, these stations are largely staffed by women police officers who have been specially trained. Earlier, police had rarely investigated incidents of violence against women and treated victims with indifference (Nelson, 1996; Thomas, 1991). This changed with creation of the women's police stations, which have also led Brazilians to recognize domestic violence as criminal behavior constituting a violation of human rights. Brazilians are now less likely to see domestic violence as a matter of family privacy (Linhares Barsted, 1994).

Puzzles of women's rights in Brazil

Social Research, Fall, 2002 by Mala Htun

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