Antônio Cruz/ABr

 

On Thursday (2), the Chamber approved the bill which obliges the Single Health System (SUS) to offer plastic surgery to women who have suffered wounds or sequels resulting from violence. According to the bill, hospitals and health centers, when receiving victims of violence, should inform those women about the possibility of free access to plastic surgery. That benefit will be offered to those victims who submit a police report on the violence.

The Committee on the Constitution and Justice and Citizenship (CCJ) approved, in conclusive character, the substitution bill proposed by Deputy Valtenir Pereira (PSB-MT), to the Bill 123/07, proposed by Deputy Neilton Mulim (PP-RJ). The bill is now being forwarded to the Senate.

Requirements
According to the substitution bill, the Executive Power is no longer responsible for the establishment of teams of experts in plastic surgery; for the distribution of medicines during the pre and post-surgical period; and for the statistical control of the cases. Those responsibilities had been established in the original text. According to its rapporteur, that determination is unconstitutional, since it violates the “principle of separation of powers”.

The text, though, maintains the requirement that physicians who indicate the need for plastic surgery make a formal diagnosis and require the authorization of the responsible person for the relevant health unit, in order to perform the surgery.

Dignity
According to Mulim, most of the women who are victims of violence cannot afford a treatment in case of sequels, such as deep cuts and burns. “That bill seeks to help the victim recover her dignity and to give her psycho-emotional comfort” he says.

Before being approved at CCJ, the bill was reviewed by the Committees on Social Security and Family; and on Finances and Taxation. In the later, its rapporteur, Deputy Luciana Genro (Psol-RS), stressed that that bill guarantees the necessary broadening on the assistance, since SUS can also refer those women to private clinics.

According to her, the fact that the bill requires a police report for the hospital assistance can also impact the statistics on violence against women, since many of them do not go to the police when they are hurt. “For the woman to have access to surgery she will have to report the aggression, she will need to make a police report. Then, the police, the Judiciary and the institutions as a whole will have better conditions to gauge the levels of violence against women and also to fight it”, he added.

Report - Rodrigo Bittar
Editing - Regina Céli Assumpção
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda