The Chamber of Councilors of the capital of São Paulo approved in a definitive vote the bill (PL) 18 of 2023, known as “Não Se Cale”. The text establishes a program to combat sexual violence in leisure establishments, such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shows. To become law, the PL still needs to be sanctioned by Mayor Ricardo Nunes.
According to the Psol Feminist Banquet, which proposed the PL, the project for the new legislation was inspired by a law in Barcelona, Spain, used in the case of soccer player Daniel Alves, arrested in that country on charges of rape. Proponents of the project are councilors Cris Monteiro (Novo), Daniel Annenberg (PSB), Sandra Tadeu (União Brasil), Sandra Santana (PSDB), Rinaldi Digilio (União Brasil), Marcelo Messias (MDB), Fernando Holiday (Republicans), Silvia from Bancada Feminista (Psol), and João Ananias (PT).
“The leisure space that adheres to the ‘Não se Cale’ Program must provide training for its employees to enable them to detect situations of sexual aggression and the action procedure in the face of cases that occur on its premises”, says the approved text. Joining the program is optional.
According to the PL, the employees or those responsible for the establishment, once a sexual assault has been identified, must offer the victim and their possible companions a reserved and safe space, within the premises, as soon as possible, so that the first emergency care.
Employees and guardians must also be trained to identify the most appropriate time to trigger a medical and police emergency. They should also seek information about the possible aggressor through witnesses or video cameras and share it with law enforcement authorities, if requested.
Establishments that adhere to the “Não se Cale” program will receive a stamp and will be able to sign with posters that combat sexual violence and inform that customers can report to employees any situation that may be the result of cases of aggression.
According to the PL, to receive the “Não Se Cale” seal, the establishment must be certified by a municipal secretariat, which will be identified by the city hall after the mayor’s sanction.
According to the feminist bench of the City Council, the program was fundamental in Barcelona for the reception of the victim of Daniel Alves. The establishment preserved the identity of the victim and provided evidence that helped in the investigation of the case.
“The role of the entertainment establishment is essential, because it is these security guards, waiters, as was the case in Barcelona, who have a very large window of opportunity to properly refer that victim”, highlights the president of Mee Too Brasil, Marina Ganzarolli.
“It is very important not only to guarantee and advise that the victim can have access to an antiretroviral cocktail, an emergency contraceptive, but also to preserve the biological material that is in her body or on her clothes, essential for evidence that will be useful, in case she wants to follow up with a criminal complaint,” he added.
Ganzarolli noted that the legislation should guarantee conditions for establishments to carry out adequate training of employees. “It is necessary to guarantee conditions for the entrepreneur to do this. This is obviously a role for the executive branch. The City of Barcelona itself offers the model of the poster and the content of the training”.
