IN DEFENSE OF WOMEN AGAINST FEMICIDE IN BRAZIL AND THE WORLD

Fernando Alcoforado*

This article aims to defend women against femicide in Brazil and in the world, presenting the necessary measures to overcome this problem. The word femicide refers to the murder of women for gender reasons, that is, due to the contempt or discrimination against the female condition. It is a hate crime, in which the motivation for death must be related to the fact that the victim is female. The word femicide was spread in the 1970s by South African sociologist Diana E.H. Russell. With this new concept, she challenged the neutrality present in the expression “homicide”, which would help to keep invisible the vulnerability experienced by women worldwide.

femicide is characterized as crimes such as the stoning of women for adultery, genital mutilation and crimes in defense of honor, among others. It also means the murder of women by their husbands and partners, war rape, death from racial prejudice and death from trafficking and sexual exploitation, which treat women as disposable and sexual objects. Violent deaths due to gender are a global phenomenon and victimize women every day. The Map of Violence of the National Council of Justice (CNJ) shows that the number of women murdered has increased in Brazil. Every day, 13 Brazilian women violently lose their lives. More than 83% for femicide.

Brazil occupies the 5th place in the world ranking of femicide, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Brazil is second only to El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala and Russia in the number of cases of murder of women. Between 2003 and 2013, it went from 3,937 cases to 4,762 deaths. In 2016, a woman was murdered every two hours in Brazil. In comparison with developed countries, in Brazil, 48 times more women are killed than the United Kingdom, 24 times more than Denmark and 16 times more than Japan or Scotland [CUNHA, Carolina. Feminicídio - Brasil é o 5o país em mortes violentas de mulheres no mundo (Femicide - Brazil is the 5th country in violent deaths of women in the world). Available on the website  <https://vestibular.uol.com.br/resumo-das-disciplinas/atualidades/feminicidio-brasil-e-o-5-pais-em-morte-violentas-de-mulheres-no-mundo.htm>].

Worldwide, a total of 87,000 women were victims of femicide in 2017, according to a report published by the United Nations. More than half of them (58%), about 50,000, were murdered by acquaintances - their partners, ex-husbands or family members. That means 6 femicides committed by acquaintances every hour. Worldwide, in rich and poor countries, in developed and developing regions, a total of 50,000 women are murdered each year by current or past partners, parents, brothers, women, sisters and other relatives, due to their role and the their status as women, the report denounces. The document, prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNIDO), indicates that the murders of women by their companions make the home the" most dangerous for women and is often the culmination of long-lasting violence and can be prevented [G1.GLOBO.COM. Seis mulheres morrem a cada hora em todo o mundo vítimas de feminicídio por conhecidos, diz ONU (Six women die every hour worldwide from femicide by acquaintances, says UN). Available on the website <https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2018/11/26/seis-mulheres-morrem-a-cada-hora-vitimas-de-feminicidio-por-conhecidos-em-todo-o-mundo-diz-onu.ghtml>].

Femicide is just the tip of the iceberg of violence against women and represents the most extreme outcome of the problem. According to data released by the Brazilian Public Security Forum, every hour, 503 women over 16 years of age were assaulted in Brazil in 2016. This represents a total of 4.4 million cases in 2016. The numbers may be even higher, as many women do not report. According to a survey, three out of ten Brazilian women have suffered some form of violence in the past 12 months. The main one is verbal abuse, followed by the threat of physical violence. In 61% of the cases, the aggressor is known to the victim, being mainly companions and ex-companions [CUNHA, Carolina. Feminicídio - Brasil é o 5o país em mortes violentas de mulheres no mundo (Femicide - Brazil is the 5th country in violent deaths of women in the world). Available on the website  <https://vestibular.uol.com.br/resumo-das-disciplinas/atualidades/feminicidio-brasil-e-o-5-pais-em-morte-violentas-de-mulheres-no-mundo.htm>].

To face femicide, Law n. 11.340 / 2006, known as the Maria da Penha Law, which is the main legal framework in the defense of women in Brazil. This rule establishes that every case of domestic and intrafamily violence is a crime, which must be investigated by means of a police inquiry and sent to the Public Ministry. The law also understands that when a woman is in a situation of violence, it is the duty of the State to act for her protection. The Maria da Penha Law typifies situations of domestic violence. It includes both forms of physical and domestic violence (when aggression occurs inside the home) and psychological, such as slander, defamation or injury to a woman's honor or reputation.

The facts of life show that, despite the existence of the Maria da Penha Law, violence against women continues to increase in Brazil. This means that something needs to be done to prevent femicide from continuing to rise in Brazil and, by extension, in the world. The first step to be taken is to identify the causes of violence against women in order to determine the relevant solutions. In general, the causes of violence against women in Brazil are as follows:

? Domestic and intrafamily violence

? Murder of women by their husbands and companions

? Death due to racial prejudice

? Death from trafficking and sexual exploitation

? Use of women as sexual and disposable objects

? Rape in wars

Each of these causes requires specific solutions. Domestic and intrafamily violence and the murder of women by their husbands and partners require as a solution the use of education and awareness of the population to break existing machismo and misogyny and violence against women by educating for equity and justice involving approaching this theme in the classroom, producing statistics that support public policies and carrying out campaigns aimed at the population as a whole. It is also necessary that science collaborates in the sense of carrying out tests of the entire population to assess the presence of pathologies in individuals based on biology, mental health, emotional health and philosophical beliefs, to mention just a few scientific areas to be used aimed at the medical and psychological treatment of problematic individuals. In addition to educating people and using science, a conscious and responsible media must fight violence against women and be held legally responsible when contribute to encourage violence.

The death of women due to racial prejudice requires as a solution the use of people's education and the awareness of the population in the fight against racism to educate them to practice equity and justice involving the approach of this theme in the classroom, the production of statistics that support public policies and campaigns aimed at the population as a whole, as well as the use of a conscious and responsible media that combats racism and is held legally responsible when contribute to encourage racism. The death of women by trafficking and sexual exploitation requires as a solution the education of people and the awareness of the population against trafficking and sexual exploitation of women involving the approach of this topic in the classroom, the production of statistics that support public policies and the realization of campaigns aimed at the population as a whole, as well as the use of a conscious and responsible media that combats trafficking and sexual exploitation of women that is held legally responsible when contribute to encourage this practice.

The use of women as sexual and disposable objects requires as a solution the utilization of people's education and the population's awareness to educate them to practice equity and justice involving the approach of this theme in the classroom, the production of statistics that support public policies and campaigns aimed at the population as a whole, as well as the use of a conscious and responsible media that combats trafficking and sexual exploitation of women that is held legally responsible when they contribute to encourage this practice. The rape of women in wars requires as a solution the realization of social changes that contribute to the existence of a Social Welfare State that avoids the outbreak of social conflicts that lead to the occurrence of civil wars, as well as changes in relations international that make it possible to avoid the outbreak of international conflicts or world wars. Social peace in each country and world peace are the conditions to prevent the rape of women in wars.

In addition to the solutions described above to eliminate or mitigate the causes of femicide in Brazil and worldwide, measures to support surviving women and their families must be adopted. Laws and the fight against crimes are not enough if those affected by violence are not supported by the State and society. The valorization of the victims' memory and the reparation to those affected must also be taken into account when confronting violence against women. It is also necessary to invest in psychological and social support and in income generation programs so that the victims have the right to restart their lives. This is the opinion of Vanessa Foga?a Prateano expressed in article 4 steps to combat, prevent and eradicate femicide published on the website <https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2017/11/25/4-passos-para-combater-prevenir-e-erradicar-o-feminicidio>.

It is also important to have a strong feminist movement that, in addition to fighting for gender equality in a country, such as Brazil, where the ideas of male hegemony and rigid gender roles have deep roots, fight for the adoption of the measures above described. The struggle of women is crucial to ending femicide. Nothing will happen without the women's struggle. Women need to take to the streets and put pressure on the government and the parliament for laws and public policies to come to their rescue. This struggle is not just for women, but for all of humanity. There must also be solidarity on the part of men of good will and social movements in general so that there is a transformation capable of ending femicide.

I highlight the importance of governments and parliaments worldwide in adopting measures that make education and science put at the service of the fight against femicide, as well as the adoption of legislation and the implementation of public policies with the same objective. As for education, your role is to make people happy and healthy behavior results. As for science, its role is that, based on a multidisciplinary approach with the contribution of biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, biology, nutrition, social engineering, environment, mental health, emotional health, spiritual health and philosophical beliefs, epigenetics, among others, contribute to eliminating the causes of violence against women. Regarding the adoption of legislation and the implementation of public policies, its role is also to contribute to the government eliminating the causes of violence against women.

With regard to education, the main job of the educator is to collaborate in order to make people happy. Happiness is an achievement that is achieved through the individual's education of himself to become human beings of irreproachable social conduct. And she will never be found outside. To be happy, the individual must seek self-knowledge, including with the help of the educator and the psychologist. The educational system should use Positive Psychology that works more on the strengths than the weaknesses of the human being, more on the pursuit of happiness than the study of mental illnesses. Explaining what types of projects actually make people happy, and what types of attitudes lead to happiness or make it impossible, is the object of Positive Psychology which is limited to identifying what effectively makes people happy. In support of education, Positive Psychology explores the importance of the individual knowing how to correctly interpret the world and himself [LOPES, Paulo. Psicologia Positiva (Positive Psychology). S?o Paulo: Matrix Editora, 2017]. Part of the unhappiness of individuals results from wrong ways of interpreting the things in life. Femicide results from this.

With regard to science, there is no doubt about the fact that there is enough scientific knowledge about the functioning of a human being and its associated pathologies. There is a belief that science will provide answers to the unknown, although science has not yet proven to provide all the answers to everything. Science solutions would be sought at the root cause level of violence against women in biology, nutrition, social engineering, environment, mental health, emotional health, spiritual health and philosophical beliefs, to name just a few. The news media presents negative images and narratives about the psychic behavior of human beings. This produces body chemistry based on thinking, which in turn produces externalized negative behaviors. The mainstream news media does not feed society with information that generates hope, but bad information that generates fear, worry, anxiety and all those things that cause bad chemistry to emerge from within and to manifest externally (MASEKO, Joseph Mandla. Use science to stop femicide & gender-based violence. Available on the website <https://www.academia.edu/s/27c8ad2642?source=news>). Science can certainly help to solve these problems.

We have enough science, reliable science, with which to work to eliminate gender violence, femicide, as well as violence in general on this planet. Visibly eliminating gender-based violence and femicide should be just a start. It must be a start to eliminate the greatest and most destructive attempt to decimate human beings on Earth. Women, girls and babies must live. Scientists of sober and clean thinking and all other knowledge holders have a moral duty towards humanity and they themselves must act to reverse the damage already done (MASEKO, Joseph Mandla. Use science to stop femicide & gender-based violence. Available on the website <https://www.academia.edu/s/27c8ad2642?source=news>).

I reinforce the need for people to be researched based on a multidisciplinary approach with the contribution of biochemistry, physiology, anatomy, biology, nutrition, social engineering, environment, mental health, emotional health, spiritual health and beliefs philosophical, epigenetic, among others to identify and eliminate the causes of violence against women and human beings in general. The basic causes of overt violence can be identified based on tests of people who would be recorded in a database on the propensity to commit them. With people being tested, there would be a contribution so that each one could make, for example, the selection of a loving or marital partner considering the compatibility test on several levels than just based on the loving feeling of each other. These tests can help to eradicate not only femicide, but also the problems of violence in society.

From the above, it is evident that violence against women and violence in general require the use of education to educate people so that they have a human behavior compatible with the most adequate coexistence in society, the use of science to identify and solve the existing social pathologies, the adoption of legislation and the implementation of public policies capable of eliminating femicide, in addition to the realization of profound social changes in the society in which we live in order to prevent human behavior from being influenced by social ills. These social changes must be carried out in order to enable civilized coexistence among all human beings and to promote in each country, to the highest degree, economic, social and environmental progress and democratic political governance.

* Fernando Alcoforado, 80, awarded the medal of Engineering Merit of the CONFEA / CREA System, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor in Territorial Planning and Regional Development by the University of Barcelona, university professor and consultant in the areas of strategic  planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is author of the books Globaliza??o (Editora Nobel, S?o Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova (Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, S?o Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, S?o Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado. Universidade de Barcelona,https://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globaliza??o e Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, S?o Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporanea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of the Economic and Social Development- The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe Planetária (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, S?o Paulo, 2010), Amaz?nia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, S?o Paulo, 2011), Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econ?mico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012), Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudan?a Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2015), As Grandes Revolu??es Científicas, Econ?micas e Sociais que Mudaram o Mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2016), A Inven??o de um novo Brasil (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2017),  Esquerda x Direita e a sua convergência (Associa??o Baiana de Imprensa, Salvador, 2018, em co-autoria) and Como inventar o futuro para mudar o mundo (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2019).