Violence Against Women In Brazil And The United Nations

WHO used their research capabilities and funding to shine a disgraceful light on the effects of violence against women, both individually and communally, while the United Nations has established three milestones and many international treaties in effort to combat the shocking effects and realities women face around the world. In effort to employ equality for all people the United Nations uses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the foundational set of principles to protect women. Furthermore, the UN also references International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1966 and the International Covenant on Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights to ensure that women are guaranteed a right to life, liberty, to be secure in their person,

As a result there are nations like US act as champions for women’s rights, but ingrained in the structures of our society there is still economic inequality, job disparities, and a serious underrepresentation of women in politics.

Within Brazil, it is hard to see where the UN’s mission for protecting women is enacted. The current policies and organizations established to combat violence against women are typically established to help women after they have experienced violence or abuse, rather then preventing violence from happening in the first place. However, organizations like IPV (Intimate Partner Violence) and WHO (World Health Organization) work together with the UN and are committed to helping women that are experiencing violence by establishing shelters for women and avidly promoting legislation such as longer sentences for men who commit sexual or physical violence against women. Ligia Kiss’s ect. “Brazilian Policy Responses to Violence Against Women: Government Strategy and Help-Seeking Behaviors of Women Who Experience Violence” examines Brazil’s innovative strategy to curb violence against women within Brazil. This study demonstrated how, in spite of the efforts to combat violence against women,

The studies previously discussed do not provide any evidence of policies or organizations that aim to prevent violence before it happens, however all of the member- states that ratified Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) aare legally bound to put its provision into practice and submit “national reports, at least every four years, on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations” (CEDAW 1). These binding mandates not only have the power over its member to enforce the laws of the treaty, but CEDAW also requires an updated on the progress that the country has made to ensure that their efforts are being implemented within the countries. After reading Brazil’s national report, it becomes clear that CEDAW’s enforcement allowed women within Brazil to obtain maternity leave, right to Social Security, changed the term “non-criminal abortion” to “abortion,” includes rape as a non- bail-able crime, allows women to buy houses without spousal consent in 1994, and provides women with healthcare in 1995. Among plenty of other laws passed and amendments changed, Brazil has begun the process of implementing gender inclusive laws and amendments into its society to prevent violence against women before the violence happens (CEDAW/C/BRA