51吃瓜

On December 7, the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Catholic of the sinless Virgin Mary, thousands of protesters in over 20 Brazilian cities to a wave of unbridled against women. In Sao Paulo, the country鈥檚 largest city and the of events, almost 10,000 people carried signs demanding change. They carried declaring, 鈥淪ilence kills – stop femicide!,鈥� 鈥淣either monsters nor psychopaths: MEN are killing us!鈥� and 鈥淎 Brazilian woman is killed every two minutes,鈥� and called for legal abortion and harsher penalties for sex offenders. The crowd was awash in photographs to honor hundreds of femicide victims.

and , social movement , representatives of the and from left-leaning parties joined together in many cities to support women鈥檚 rights. Protestors carried placards saying, 鈥淢arielle lives.鈥� This message references Rio de Janeiro鈥檚 former councilwoman, , a women鈥檚 rights activist who was in 2018. The statement reminded everyone that violence against women is not constrained to domestic relations, as remarked by Marielle鈥檚 sister, Minister for Racial Equality , in the event in the capital of Bras铆lia.

Not even five blocks ahead of the Sao Paulo demonstration, however, 1,200 people had for a different cause: hardline supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, organized by Sao Paulo鈥檚 vice-mayor, Colonel Mello Ara煤jo, demanded amnesty for him. Bolsonaro is a notorious who recently lost his house arrest privileges after using a soldering iron to with his ankle monitor. As his ally, Sao Paulo State Governor Tarc铆sio de Freitas has cut of the budget to fight violence against women since 2024; this move mirrors Bolsonaro, who cut of the funding to fight gender-based violence between 2020 and 2022.

With of the police, neo-Pentecostal pastors and of Brazilian politics, Ara煤jo told the media there was only one agenda for protests that Sunday: amnesty for Bolsonaro. It was not a lack of judgment or a faux pas by the city鈥檚 second-in-command, but a clear message from the right-wing state and municipal governments that the safety of 54% of Brazilians does not matter.

Misogyny in Brazil

Brazil is no stranger to femicide and all forms of violence against women. Since , and racism have been intertwined, with a patriarchal Christian imposing gender roles and behavioral standards on a largely population. From the struggle of women to get basic and rights to the ongoing fight to achieve full body , Brazil has mistreated its female population for centuries.

Misogyny is still a socially acceptable political , as former Brazilian President 鈥� the only woman to ever hold that position 鈥� during her term and impeachment. Brazilian women than men despite being better educated, and experience life conditions. Certain professions, such as those in the law field, women despite them graduating in higher numbers than men. Sexism runs rampant in Brazilian and . Women in Brazil suffer discrimination at work for getting despite law protections, are subject to and have medical care, as doctors ignore their complaints more often.

Racial and income aggravate these issues. Domestic violence occurs in all female demographics but is for young, black and lower-income women. Poor black women in Brazil are targets of , despite this demographic being the in public universities thanks to affirmative action. The insidious combination of racism and misogyny, however, has yet to be extirpated from Brazilian society if the vulnerability of this population, who represents of Brazilians, is to be reduced.

Progress in femicide law and behavioral change

The country has seen strides to reduce gender inequality since the 1988 promulgation of the most recent , which institutes gender equality in its 5th Article. Previous civil law changes improved the agency for women to remove themselves from dangerous relationships. For example, the nation divorce until 1977, when it became a legal process, but still required a cause and a mandatory minimum of legal separation. The whole process could be contested, generally by the man, at any moment. The law was generally applied unfavorably to women, especially if they were accused of adultery. Courts could only implement the current 鈥渘o-fault鈥� process after a constitutional amendment in 2010 dispensed with the need for judicial agreement. This led couples to divorce in聽 for several years.

鈥淐rimes of honor,鈥� which practically allowed men to kill their wives, were only in 1991. Adultery, often used as a defense in domestic violence cases against women, was in 2005. One of the most infamous cases in Brazil, in which both the moral slander of a woman鈥檚 behavior and the 鈥渄efense of honor鈥� were used to acquit a murderer, was recently adapted to film: the of socialite 脗ngela Diniz by entrepreneur Doca Street, her then-boyfriend, with four close-range gunshots to her face. In his 1976 trial, he pleaded guilty of 鈥渒illing for love,鈥� initially received a two-year prison sentence and immediately saw release.

The trial focused on Diniz鈥檚 鈥渋mmoral lifestyle;鈥� she was separated but not divorced from her husband, and therefore was an adulterer and sinner. The opposite of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, the media described Diniz as a woman who was 鈥渂egging to be killed.鈥� Public prosecutors appealed, and Street was re-sentenced in 1981, this time to 15 years in prison. The media circus led to one of the first campaigns against domestic violence in Brazil: 鈥淨uem ama n茫o mata鈥� (鈥淭hose who love do not kill鈥�).

The most important legal turning point came with the creation of the landmark Maria da Penha in 2006, based on the infamous 1983 against Maria da Penha Maia Fernandes by her husband, after the authorities ignored her pleas for help. The case ended up in the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights of the Organization of American States in 1998 鈥� it found Brazil negligent in her case.

The new law defined domestic violence more broadly, including, in addition to physical violence, psychological, sexual, moral and patrimonial violence by partners regardless of gender or cohabitation, understanding these as a breach of human rights. It also created specialized courts and support mechanisms for victims, including shelters and protection measures for women threatened by their partners, and increased sentences for offenders. Its efficiency, however, is highly dependent on sociocultural factors and regional implementation. Some suggest the law has decreased hospitalizations and deaths caused by domestic violence, and increased case notifications.

In 2015, Brazil enacted the , adding femicide to the Penal Code as an aggravated form of homicide and a hate crime, with much higher sentences. Its implementation still encounters sociocultural and regional obstacles. Then in 2023, after two years of deliberation in the Brazilian Supreme Court, the 鈥渓egitimate defense of honor鈥� argument, used by Street in his first trial, was definitively unconstitutional. It cannot be called on any phase of a femicide case, from the investigation to the trial by jury.

Beyond legal instruments to protect women, federal, state and municipal governments, social movements and even companies created strong campaigns that reviewed traditional Brazilian attitudes that fostered domestic violence. In 2018, Magazine Luiza, one of Brazil鈥檚 largest retail stores 鈥� famously founded and headed by women 鈥� picked on the old saying, 鈥淓m briga de marido e mulher, ningu茅m mete a colher鈥� (鈥淣o one should poke their nose into a husband-and-wife fight鈥�). The urged the population to 鈥測es, poke [their] noses鈥� and intervene, call the police or anonymously denounce cases. The slogan later found adoption by the National Campaign to Fight Violence Against Women, or 鈥�,鈥� which defines a yearly month-long awareness campaign about the Maria da Penha Law.

The of campaigns appears to depend on adopting the behaviors recommended by them and the multiplication of behavior-changing ideas through social contact, or 鈥渨ord-of-mouth鈥� actions.

Misogyny, Bolsonarism and Brazil鈥檚 digital sphere

Violence data is tracked by the Institute for Applied Economic Research, a public institution linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Planning and Budget. Its interactive Atlas da Viol锚ncia (鈥淎tlas of Violence鈥�) pools homicide rates from 1980 up to 2022, allowing users to select particular years and states, gender, race and age. However, it does not discriminate between femicide, manslaughter or felony murder. Overall murder rates fluctuate in the country, but have been since 2017.

The murder rate of women, however, from 5/100,000 in 1997 to 3.8/100,000 in 2022, including manslaughter and robbery-homicides. A more detailed view comes from the Observatory on Violence Against Women, a committee from the Brazilian Federal Senate designated to study femicide rates and accompany legal cases. It identifies an unsettling in this type of crime since 2022, with the state of Sao Paulo having the highest numbers in 2025. Renata Furbino, a professor of criminal law from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, affirms that, despite the laws already in place to protect women, it is necessary to understand the present of society to interpret and combat these trends.

Digital campaigners from , a non-profit organization fighting misogyny in global politics, published a study about Brazil that highlighted the of misogyny against Brazilian women in public life. They identified organized actors who coordinated social media attacks towards women in leadership roles, most connected to politicians such as Bolsonaro and his allies, and pseudo-intellectuals such as the self-proclaimed philosopher and far-right guru Olavo de Carvalho.

Men have so frequently targeted women in the Brazilian digital sphere that entire are published on the phenomenon, alleging that Big Tech companies organize and foster the attacks. A study from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro shows that digital misogyny is a from social media platforms, with algorithms pushing disinformation and fraudulent ads that demean women in all digital channels. Misogyny is , and tech companies found a gold cauldron in Brazil, as the nation鈥檚 digital presence is one of the largest worldwide. Dubbed the 鈥淪ocial Media of the Universe,鈥� Brazil is the second largest market on Facebook, with over 65 million users. Its netizens spend more than a day interacting with others online.

This is such a hotbed for social media misuse that Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes X owner Elon Musk for circumventing Brazilian laws against hate speech and spreading disinformation. Moraes even temporarily blocked X in the whole country until Musk paid the fine.聽

Misogynistic efforts from Big Tech platforms are growing more hostile. Recently, Meta content from organizations advising on reproductive rights across the world, regardless of whether abortion, queer rights and transgender support are legal in a country. These accounts enable cisgender and transgender women to deal with body autonomy and domestic and social violence, providing an anonymous, discrete way to access information and guidance while they seemingly browse their social media.

Progressive lawmakers are still fighting for pieces of legislation that may ameliorate this shameful scenario in Brazil. In 2024, after intense lobbying by Big Tech companies with far-right congressmen, then-President of the Chamber of Deputies Arthur Lira a vital bill meant to regulate the spread of fake news through social media. The caucus all but stopped any bills trying to halt hate speech in social media, forcing the Supreme Court to the responsibility of digital platforms with the content they host. Another bill, which legally misogyny to racism, would make social media bullying against women a non-bailable offense and carry higher sentences. The ongoing public consultation of the Senate about this bill has not yet reached the greater public, but already has over support for its approval.

The digital sphere also fostered and spread throughout Brazil imported movements such as 鈥�,鈥� 鈥溾�� and the 鈥�,鈥� bringing in concepts such as masculine supremacy, extreme misogyny and justification for . Together with ideology, which is intrinsically linked to gender-based violence, neo-Pentecostal churches have pushed to gender equality for at least a decade. They have found social media perfect for convincing battered, socially-isolated and hopeless that they are divinely entitled to rule over, and even , the women who reject them.

Far-right populism, such as that personified by , attracts during economic crises, while women tend to be attracted to progressive movements under the same circumstances. Misogyny may be the differential, also by racism and cruelty, to the point that Brazil now has a saying when gender- and race-based violence happens: 鈥淣em todo Bolsonarista, mas sempre um Bolsonarista鈥� (鈥淣ot all Bolsonarists, but a Bolsonarist鈥�). Femicide during Bolsonaro鈥檚 term, and researchers understood this hike in numbers to be connected to a virtual 鈥� to kill鈥� granted by the presidency.

A perfect example of the explosive mix of misinterpreted mythical Christian biblical masculinity, militarism, the money-oriented Prosperity Gospel and far-right conservatism is the movement, created by an evangelical pastor in Guatemala and imported to Brazil in 2017. Claiming to transform 鈥渨oke鈥� and 鈥渨eak鈥� men into 鈥渉eroes,鈥� the movement charges high fees to take men on hikes in nature, teaching them to up their feelings and 鈥渟oldier up鈥� when in distress. This strategy led to in 2025.

Despite claiming to teach Christian love, on March 8 鈥� International Women鈥檚 Day 鈥� two 尝别驳别苍诲谩谤颈辞蝉 members violently a woman in the city of Cuiab谩, state of Mato Grosso, beating her in front of security cameras after an argument at a restaurant鈥檚 playground. The group later expelled the two wealthy entrepreneurs after social backlash. Progressive religious leaders continue to the movement and point out the link between this Christian interpretation and increasing femicide numbers.

Digital media platforms became for Bolsonarism and the growth of misogynistic hate speech in Brazil, a phenomenon that is involved with the on January 8, 2023, and receives strong from Big Tech companies. When the Bolsonarist caucus in Brazilian legislative houses became a majority during Bolsonaro鈥檚 2019鈥�2023 presidential term, it employed disruptive strategies to create during votes on human rights, gender equality and race equality topics, using inflammatory moments as snippets for social media. For the 2023 election, they used Telegram to question the validity of Brazil鈥檚 and, as the main group inside 鈥渄eep web鈥� environments and the 鈥渋nfluence-sphere,鈥� managed to gain an even larger for the current legislative term.

Using social media techniques such as polarization, false identity, emotion, defamation (often targeting women, ethnic minorities and LGBTQIA+ politicians) and conspiracy theories, far-right politicians and influencers digital platforms to destabilize social discourse and feed into Brazil鈥檚 ingrained prejudices. They produce virtue signaling short videos inside Congress and post them on TikTok, Instagram and X, showing far-right politicians preaching against 鈥渨oke鈥� congressmen, in particular female, transgender and black left-wing representatives. In January 2025, Chief of Staff Rui Costa warned that the opposition in the legislature behaves like 鈥渟poiled brats鈥� and one cannot build hospitals with 鈥�.鈥�

The most recent push to achieve amnesty for the perpetrators of the coup attempt brought and authoritarian moves by conservative President of the Chamber of Deputies Hugo Motta, of the Republicanos party. On December 9, Motta ordered Legislative Police to forcefully remove a progressive lawmaker, cut the live feed of the TV C芒mara public television network 鈥� an unprecedented move after re-democratization 鈥� and the press from the building, physically journalists like Universo Online reporter Carolina Nogueira. Bolsonarist lawmakers took the opportunity to pronounce their prejudices and hate speech for their audience, and instances of violence against women repeated on the tribune.

The next night, on December 10, Congress held a vote to left-wing Congressman Glauber Braga for kicking a far-right activist from the Movimento Brasil Livre (Free Brazil Movement). The debate inflamed Bolsonarist congressman Paulo Bilynskyj, the proud grandson of a who is infamous for his involvement in his girlfriend鈥檚 . At the session, Bilynskyj Congresswoman Duda Salabert, a transwoman, saying he would 鈥渂reak her face鈥� if he could. Motta then called Congresswoman Benedita da Silva, a black 83-year-old veteran of the center-left Workers鈥� Party, a liar, told her that her party was against the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution and her microphone mid-speech. Da Silva managed to return to the microphone and read him the signatures on her copy of the Constitution: She was actually the of the Constitutional Commission.

A bizarre tale can serve as a summary of Brazil鈥檚 situation of mixing neo-Pentecostal religions, Bolsonarism and femicide. A film about Bolsonaro鈥檚 life, Dark Horse, is in in Brazil, directed by American filmmaker Cyrus Nowrasteh, written by Bolsonarist congressman and actor M谩rio Frias and starring actor Jim Caviezel as Bolsonaro. The production company, headed by executive producer Karina Ferreira da Gama, has no experience in cinema. Yet it received 108 million reais (over $19.5 million) to install overpriced Wi-Fi systems in Sao Paulo鈥檚 low-income communities 鈥� which it never properly delivered 鈥� and raised funds for neo-Pentecostal festivals.

The whole convoluted deal, as by news agency Intercept Brasil, involves large amounts of public funds being transferred to the production company and its subcontractors. One of these subcontractors, Alex Leandro Bispo dos Santos, received over reais (over $2.1 million) from Dark Horse鈥檚 production company and inadvertently helped trigger the massive protests against femicide around the country. On November 29, following a violent domestic altercation, Santos鈥檚 severely beaten 25-year-old wife Maria Katiane Gomes da Silva after falling from the tenth floor of their apartment building. Police arrested him a few days later, when doubted his account of her suicide, and abundant of his violence came to light.

Brazil鈥檚 femicide struggle persists

The actions taken by Motta and the Bolsonarist caucus in Congress to pass a disguised amnesty to Bolsonaro and the military involved in the coup attempt triggered yet another country-wide . Called by popular progressive organizations in just three days, supporters held massive in all Brazilian capitals, with calls to remove Motta from the presidency of the Congress, and continued for indigenous rights and against femicide. In the city of Recife, feminist groups and female politicians made their known. The northeastern Brazilian capital has a strong feminist and has acted as a haven to guarantee legal abortion rights that other Brazilian states .

When asked their views on the anti-femicide protests, the women who attended illustrated how important these mobilizations were. Artist Lia Let铆cia, who works with the relations of patriarchalism, race and gender, that femicide has always happened in Brazil. Since the European invasion in the 16th century, indigenous women, and later African women, were raped, traded and killed with impunity. Violence against women is a tragic part of Brazilian past and present. 鈥淣ow, we are coming together and talking about it, so this is a step forward,鈥� Lia Let铆cia affirms.

Cultural producer and actress Irma Brown agrees that femicide has always been present. 鈥淏razil was born from , so all gender-based, racial and class violence end up falling on women, especially women of color,鈥� she says. The current situation allows for free discussion, but violence against women is still naturalized across Brazil and bringing the topic to the streets can illuminate this issue. Lia Let铆cia and Brown believe that instead of an actual growth in femicide in the last months, we are seeing high profile cases and open dialogue on the topic, rather than an actual increase of numbers. In fact, recent governmental statistics show an overall in cases of lethal violence against women between 2023 and 2024.

Photographer Camila Silva agrees that these cases were highly publicized, and the media pushed the discussion forward, but women faced gender-based violence all their lives in Brazil. 鈥淲e all know friends and relatives in some sort of domestic violence situation, and hear about femicide cases all the time,鈥� she says. She believes there was a turning point for women鈥檚 rights born from collective action which allowed for women to get positions of power, but masculine fragility could be the reason for many of these instances of violence. Illustrating this is the case in which a public servant his two female superiors at a public technical school in S茫o Paulo, as he could not accept being 鈥渙rdered around鈥� by women. Silva feels men should be part of the conversation and take action: 鈥淎 man can say 鈥榳ell, I do not do that,鈥� but he needs to act more strongly, as he is actually part of this constant struggle.鈥�

Artist Juliana Notari points out that the recent cases were not only in Sao Paulo: Highly-publicized cases came from several Brazilian states, and she agrees that Brazil has always been a violent place to women, with statistics being aggravated by race and class. A shocking happened in Recife, where a man provoked a fire and killed his wife and four children. 鈥淲e had an extremely misogynous far-right president, and the far-right is notorious for its violence, racism and . He validated this type of violence.鈥� Far-right politicians still act in the Congress and Senate, and social media pushed the global swing to the extreme right, but 鈥渢he same digital platforms that feed red-pilling are also used to push forward .鈥� She urges people to focus on black women, the most common victims, and to push left-wing leaders to better understand the demands of women, as they are still ignoring crucial issues like the right to abortion.

Notari鈥檚 2020 artistic intervention, titled 鈥�,鈥� which was exhibited during Bolsonaro鈥檚 term and represented historical violences against women and nature, went around the world and incurred the wrath of far-right politicians and bloggers. Olavo de Carvalho used his platform to the artist and make her a target for and harassment. The installation earned and raised important discussions of patriarchalism, gender violence and body autonomy, and how is still uncomfortable with female issues.

Dr. Ana Paula Portella, a sociologist and author of the , Como Morre uma Mulher? (鈥淗ow Does a Woman Die?鈥�), has been researching violence against women since the 1970s. She sees this new wave of protests to combat violence against women as a very positive step, reminding that this movement has been organized for more than 40 years.

鈥淲e have a very solid, very strong social feminist movement, and since before 脗ngela Diniz鈥檚 murder we were organizing in this direction, to denounce patriarchal violence,鈥� Portella says. She explains that despite the last 20 years of governmental support through policies to fight gender-based violence, and an excellent structure to remove women from dangerous situations, society itself offered very little support. 鈥淲e have seen efficient policies and services at municipal, state and federal levels, but we haven鈥檛 seen such massive social support. [The recent cases] were a shock, and I am seeing this popular manifestation for the first time. We had the #MeToo movement in 2015, but it was almost restricted to social media. This time, it spilled over to the streets.鈥�

Portella says that Brazil has been a part of the White Ribbon , a global action movement of men and boys to end male violence against women, for almost 30 years. But only now are men, including the Brazilian President Luiz In谩cio Lula da Silva, publicly that 鈥渢his struggle is also mine.鈥� It is crucial we make it clear that violence against women is a men鈥檚, not a women鈥檚, problem: 鈥淲omen are victims of a man鈥檚 motion, and to end violence it is necessary to interrupt this motion.鈥� She affirms that men become violent by repeating a set of attitudes, words, thoughts and concepts, which unfortunately are also introjected by some women. Men must take responsibility to stop the violence.

鈥淚 see these movements of the last two weeks in a very positive way, if this trend is maintained,鈥� she adds. We need to wait and see if this was a fatuous initiative to gain popularity on social media or a genuine effort. 鈥淢en need to stop beating up women, and they won鈥檛 stop just because of the threat of 40 years in jail.鈥� This comments refers to the changes in law that increased the sentences for rape, domestic violence and femicide, including the creation of a new criminal classification for such cases. 鈥淚t is not the punishment that solves the problem: the problem will be solved when men , 鈥業 will stop.鈥欌��

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The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.