Paraplegic for life: Attempted femicide makes Brazilian legal history
The tragedy takes place in 1983. As she slept peacefully, Maria da Penha Fernandes, a 38-year-old Brazilian woman, was startled by a gunshot. Her husband had just shot her. What version will he give the authorities? A hellish struggle against 4 burglars.
After the shock, Maria tries to get out of bed, but can't move an inch. She finds herself, at the dawn of a promising forties, a paraplegic for life. As soon as she returned home from hospital, her ex-husband tried once again, this time to electrocute her in the bath. A double murder attempt...
Historic judgment
It was an event that would profoundly change the history of football country. However, it would be 20 years, 20 years of freedom for the perpetrator, before a historic judgment was handed down. UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) points out that “following the judgment, the Court of Human Rights criticized the Brazilian government for failing to take effective measures to prosecute and convict perpetrators of domestic violence”.
Maria da Penha Law
In 2006, the Brazilian government enacted a law it symbolically named the “Maria da Penha Law” on domestic and family violence. It called for the establishment of specific courts and tougher penalties for those guilty of such assaults.
Today, Maria is 78 years old. She's an example of strength, courage and determination for all women victims of domestic violence. Her fight against feminicide endures... So that eyes see and silences are broken.
(MH with AsD/Source: UN Women/Illustration: Unsplash)