O Reporting Paths addresses the crime of stalking, better known by its English name, stalkingin the new edition of this Monday (29), at 11 pm, on TV Brazil. The public channel’s journalistic production heard from women who decided to fight against persecution, even though they had been discredited at some point in their stories. The program can still be watched on the TV Brasil Play app.
O stalkingas the term is in English, gained worldwide repercussion with the success of the British series Baby Reindeerfrom Netflix. Actor Richard Gadd himself starred in the drama that inspired the script. Although men also suffer persecution, there is a consensus among scholars that the vast majority of victims are women, which is why in several countries the crime is included in the statistics of gender violence.
More than 77,000 women were victims of stalking in 2023 in the country, according to the latest edition of the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook. Reports of incidents at police stations increased by 34.5% compared to the previous year. According to the National Justice Council, around 30,000 cases involving the crime of stalking are being processed in courts throughout Brazil.
On average, 80% of women who are stalked are attacked by a man close to them, such as an ex-partner who does not accept the end of the relationship, says Ana Lara Camargo de Castro, Public Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Mato Grosso do Sul. According to her, in these cases, the risk of the stalking leading to femicide increases.
Specific legislation
It has been three years since stalking was included in the Penal Code. Journalist Jaqueline Naujorks, from Mato Grosso do Sul, inspired the so-called Stalking Law when she faced an unknown stalker who threatened to kill her on social media and prowled the places she frequented.
Journalist Jaqueline Naujorks inspired the so-called Stalking Law – Frame TV Brazil
At the time, this behavior was considered a misdemeanor, and those responsible were not arrested. Undeterred, Jaqueline wrote a report, telling stories similar to hers, which mobilized the National Congress. “It was one of the most important moments of my life and my career because I was able to help other women not go through what I went through and not feel the same discouragement,” recalls the journalist.
The public broadcaster’s attraction shows that today anyone who repeatedly persecutes someone, taking away their freedom and threatening their physical or psychological integrity, can be punished with sentences of six months to two years in prison.
The program team TV Brazil found a woman assisted by the Women’s Movement of São Gonçalo, in Baixada Fluminense, who lived with an abusive husband for more than 30 years. When she asked for a divorce, he started following her everywhere, in addition to physically assaulting her. Even after several complaints, the stalker remains at large, while she deals with financial and emotional damage and health problems resulting from the assaults.
The strength to continue seeking justice comes from the multidisciplinary support received in the project that serves women who are victims of violence. “I decided not to stop,” she says. Founder and manager of the Women’s Movement of São Gonçalo, Marisa Chaves defends initiatives to protect these people. “I believe that we have to invest in prevention, talk about this law, and also in training legal professionals to correctly apply the law,” says Marisa.
Actress Lívia Vilela transformed the experience of persecution into a play – Frame TV Brazil
Theater as a cure
Actress Lívia Vilela, from São Paulo, transformed the traumatic experience of persecution into a play. In Stalking – A Documentary Horror Storyreveals how an inconvenient coworker became a relentless stalker, who chased her, called her and sent emails insistently, threatening her in different ways.
After the performances, the artist usually talks to people in the audience who identify with the situation. “The play healed me and left me in a place where I felt protected. The more people know my story, the more protected I am,” says Lívia Vilela about how she deals with the situation.
