The federal government launched this Thursday (1st) the Red Bank Project, which aims to encourage the installation of at least one red bench in public spaces with a large circulation of people and which will feature phrases that encourage reflection on awareness and alerts about violence against women. The action takes place precisely on the first day of the month, known as Purple August, to combat domestic violence against women throughout the country.
The establishment of the Banco Vermelho Project is provided for in Law 14,942, of July 31, 2024, and was published in this Thursday’s edition of Official Diary of the Union (DOU). The suggestion, according to the law, is that these red benches should have the number 180, which is for the Women’s Assistance Center. The red benches with phrases raising awareness about violence against women should be placed in schools, universities, train and subway stations, bus stations, airports and other places with a large circulation of people.
The project provides for an award for the best initiatives related to raising awareness and combating violence against women and reintegrating victims. The law published in Official Diary of the Union this Thursday was signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the Ministers of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski, and Women, Cida Gonçalves.
São Paulo
According to the Public Security Department of the state of São Paulo, in the first half of this year, Women’s Defense Police Stations registered 103,000 reports of domestic and family violence throughout the state. Even though this number may be considered high, the underreporting of such crimes against women is worrying. The head of the 1st Women’s Defense Police Station in São Paulo, Cristine Nascimento Guedes da Costa, warns that no woman should be exposed to the risk of violence and highlights the importance of victims reporting the existence of the act to the appropriate agencies, because, most of the time, victims remain silent inside their homes, and the cycle of violence is not interrupted.
Women in power
The Ministry of Women also launched this Thursday the primer More Women in Power, More Democracywhich aims to expand and qualify the debate on the political importance of women in spaces of power and decision-making.
The booklet brings together alarming figures regarding inequalities and violence against women, particularly in Brazil, whose population is predominantly female.
According to information available in the booklet, Brazil ranks fifth in the world for femicides, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
In the country, every six minutes, a girl or woman is a victim of sexual violenceaccording to the 18th Brazilian Public Security Yearbook.
Regarding the division of labor, Brazilian women dedicate, on average, 21.3 hours per week to domestic and care work, practically double that of men (Pnad-C ANual, 2023).
In the political arena, Brazil ranks 132nd in terms of female representation in Parliament, among 193 countries analyzed in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) survey.
