On August 25, to raise public awareness about the importance of Agosto Lilás (Purple August, campaign against violence toward women), we held a talk with the Vida Ativa and Mulheres em Movimento projects. Cristiane Penido, an attorney specializing in supporting women in situations of domestic violence, and Cristian Penido, who holds a postgraduate degree in Constitutional Law, explained how to identify, distinguish, and report the different types of domestic violence.
After the talk, all attendees took part in an empowerment and self-esteem session with Erica Rodrigues, an image consultant.
Agosto Lilás is a campaign that seeks to raise awareness about ending violence against women and to promote the Maria da Penha Law, together with the specialized network of services for women facing violence, whether physical, psychological, sexual, financial, or moral.
The main goal of Agosto Lilás is to clarify and highlight the importance of understanding one’s rights and the types of violence one may face (which go beyond physical violence).
To help people better understand how to tell the different types of violence apart, here are a few examples:
Physical violence: Understood as any conduct that harms a woman’s bodily integrity or health (beating, throwing objects, shaking or squeezing arms, strangulation or suffocation, injuries from sharp or piercing objects, wounds caused by burns or firearms, and torture);
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Psychological violence: Considered any conduct that: causes emotional harm and diminished self-esteem; harms or disrupts a woman’s full development; or aims to degrade or control her actions, behaviors, beliefs, and decisions (threats, humiliation, manipulation, isolation, constant surveillance, insults, blackmail, exploitation, restriction of freedom of movement, and persistent stalking);
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Sexual violence: Any conduct that forces a woman to witness, engage in, or take part in unwanted sexual relations through intimidation, threats, coercion, or the use of force (rape, forcing sexual acts that cause discomfort or repulsion, preventing the use of contraceptive methods or forcing a woman to have an abortion, forcing marriage, pregnancy, or prostitution through coercion, blackmail, bribery, or manipulation, and restricting or nullifying a woman’s sexual and reproductive rights);
Financial/property violence: Understood as any conduct that involves withholding, taking, or partially or fully destroying a woman’s belongings, work tools, personal documents, assets, valuables and rights, or economic resources, including those meant to meet her needs (controlling her money, failing to pay child support, destroying personal documents, theft, extortion or damage, fraud, depriving her of assets, valuables, or economic resources, and intentionally damaging objects belonging to her or that she cares about);
Moral violence: Considered any conduct that constitutes slander, defamation, or insult (accusing a woman of infidelity, passing moral judgment on her behavior, making false accusations, exposing her private life, demeaning her through insults about her character, and devaluing the victim based on how she dresses).
Learn more at: https://www.institutomariadapenha.org.br/lei-11340/tipos-de-violencia.html
