Brazilian President urges govts to fight violence against women

Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, has urged governments world over not to close their eyes to the reality of violence against women.

Ms Rousseff was speaking during the opening of the House of the Brazilian Woman built in the 27 country capitals, aimed at offering shelter, protection against violence and support to restart life as a fundamental citizen, to the women victims of violence.

President Rousseff said every assault on a woman was also an assault on the family because of the social role they played regarding the children and teenagers.

Ms Rousseff said if the primary violence was not fought it was that which transformed into a sad example for children, teenagers and ultimately the future of the country.

 

She said in line with the law, the federal government constituted a national network counting on shelter houses, police stations, specialized centers, courts, centers of public defenders and the Public Ministry in a total of 1,534 materials.

The President said Brazil had been through many historical phases which left deep impressions, such as slavery, but that the other distinctive trait was the patriarchy of reducing women to a different and unequal condition, to a submissive and oppressive condition, subject to all kinds of violence.

President Rousseff further announced that Brazil was installing service centers on the country’s borders to fight international networks for trafficking and sexual exploitation of women.

She said it is necessary to denounce disrespect, intolerance and machismo, saying that was why she sanctioned a law that shows that violence and murder of women for the fact of being woman will now be judged as a heinous crime.

 

And Governor of Brasilia, Rodrigo Rollemberg, says although the violence rates in the Federal District were significantly and systematically reducing, they still had a very violent society.

“We have around 14,000 cases of violence against women registered each year in Brasilia and that is unacceptable and we want to act to punish and arrest the aggressors,” said Governor Rollemberg.

This is contained in statement released to ZANIS by First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Embassy in Brazil, Patson Chilemba.