"Maria da Penha Law" is under threat, warns deputy
Senate project to reform the Code of Criminal Procedure repeals almost all the specific section on the protection of woman
The Maria da Penha Law (Law 11.340/06) has three years and is under threat, according the coordinator of the women's bench, deputy Alice Portugal (PCdoB-BA). The greater obstacle is from the Senate project to reform the Code of Criminal Procedure and repeals almost all the specific section on the protection of woman. Crucial issues are also cited to the survival of law and actions which are questioned in The Supreme Court (STF) and in the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), the constitutionality of the legislation ant its procedures.
The Maria da Penha law is considered an important achievement in combating domestic violence against women.
The name of the law is a tribute to the woman who is the symbol of this struggle, Maria da Penha Fernandes, whose ex-husband attempt to murder her twice, causing her to become paraplegic, but she is engaged in the struggle on the women’s right and in the search by punishing the guilty. On her case, the punishment of the offender husband only was after 19 years and 6 months.
According to Alice Portugal, besides the combat for non-approval of the PLS 156/09, the actions in this year should focus on creating special women’s court throughout the Country. She said that Bahia already has 11 of these courts, but she said that is necessary to make a mobilization to implement it all over the states. For her, besides the Maria da Penha Law has become an international paradigm of combating violence against women, copied in many countries, its implementation is a struggle that need to be renewed.
Controversial Project
Regarding both reform to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the actions in Justice, the main disharmony is the Law 9,099/95, which established small and criminal claims court The text of PLS 156/09 which was prepared by a jurists committee and will be by the Senator Renato Casagrande (PSB-ES), has integrated all this law to the code. Thus, it is repealed the Article 41 of Maria da Penha Law which excludes the incidental occurrence of Law 9099/95, crimes of violence against women.
The law of the small claims courts privileges the conciliation and do not allow the flagrant or preventive arrest. The project of the Senate only excludes of this rule the military crimes which continue with their scheme. The Article 296 of the project also make possible to judge do not punish the offender if he considers that this can be harmful to family harmony. For Myllena Calasans de Mattos of the Feminist Center of Studies and Advisory (CFEMEA), this put down the effort to give insight to the issue of violence against women, "which is from the State and society".
She explains that the major part of the crimes against women are of threat, damage, injury lightweight, constraint and home intrusion, considered low offensive by general legislation. “The Maria da Penha Law is a major progress because it could aggravate the violence against women crime, classifying it as a violation of human right,” she said.
For CFEMEA, repeal this law is a prominent retrocession and, gradually, can represent the loss of this rights and the resurgence of the Law 9099/95, “which devoted the trivialization of the domestic violence as a lower offensive crime."
Actions in courts
The questions in STJ discuss if, in the case of lightweight and guilty injury, the action only is possible by the victim who can even remove the complaint, or if Public Defense Office can take this decision.
According to CFEMEA, the exigency that woman makes the complaint and keeps it, deny the efficacy and depreciate the law purpose that try to get around the conditions that make the victim removing the complaint: fear of new attacks, lack of social support, economic dependency, distrust of Justice, among others.
STF will decide if Maria da Penha Law denies or not the equality between men and women. The deputy Alice Portugal emphasizes that the law – reported on Chamber by the ex-deputy Jandira Feghali and, later by deputy Iriny Lopes (PT-ES) - exists because women are discriminate, and because of this, they suffer violence from all kinds of harassment.
Reporting – Vania Alves
Edition - Rosalva Nunes
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Edgar Casadei