Em 6 meses da Lei Maria da Penha, o nœmero de denœncias cai 18,8%

According to this news article, there was a 18,8% decrease in the number of domestic violence cases reported to the delegacias da mulher (police stations specialized in assisting female victims of crimes) in the state of S‹o Paulo during the six-month period following the passage of the Lei Maria da Penha. Experts quoted in the article argue that domestic violence has not become less prevalent in Brazil, but that the decrease in the number of reported cases may be rather an unintended consequence of the recent legislation. (Information available in Portuguese only.)