Violence against women in the pandemic context

Abstract

Violence against women is a historical and cultural phenomenon, legitimized by a social structure that allows gender inequality and establishes unfavorable power relations for women in the labor, institutional and domestic spheres. After countless discussions, popular mobilizations and studies, Brazil enacted Law nº 11.340 in 2006, popularly known as “Lei Maria da Penha”. This diploma, although considered one of the most advanced in the world for combating domestic and family violence, does not yet have full applicability in the national territory due to the absence of public policies capable of curbing intra-family aggression against women in practice. This social problem was aggravated during the forced isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. In this context, there was an increase in cases of domestic violence and, simultaneously, a decrease in notifications, which indicates that the victims had greater difficulty in accessing reporting channels and asking for help. In view of the new scenario, the urgent protective measures provided for in Law nº 11.340 remained insufficient to guarantee the protection of women during quarantine, as well as the digital strategies made available to victims. Therefore, it is concluded that it is necessary to promote other joint actions, in the private and public sectors, to effectively combat domestic violence in times of pandemic. Finally, it should be noted that this scientific research was built from bibliographic, empirical and jurisprudential materials.