Legislation defines gender-based killings and sets out tougher punishments for attackers.
“It is estimated that more than 13 million women have been victims of domestic abuse in Brazil, where a woman is killed every two hours. Despite measures to reduce domestic violence with the Maria da Penha law in 2006, government figures suggest 700,000 women still live with aggression and assaults. Out of 84 countries, Brazil had the seventh-highest rate of women killed, according to the World Health Organization.
But women’s rights campaigners hope a femicide law passed in March that defines gender-based killings and sets out tougher punishments will bolster legislation that has so far failed to curb violence against women. The penalty ranges from 12 to 30 years in prison; under the new law, the tariff can be increased by a third if the victim is pregnant, is under 14, is older than 60 or has a disability or if the crime happens in front of the woman’s parents or children.”
