Violence Perpetrated Against Women. Confronting Violence Against Women: The Role of the Maria da Penha Law

Today, I will discuss a little about the famous Maria da Penha Law, as Law No. 11,340/06 became popularly known, which in 2024 completed 18 years of existence.

Obviously, the law alone will not guarantee the full range of desired services if there is not a strong support network adapted to our reality, aligning with public policies with the same direction. However, we can observe that with the advent of this law, numerous innovations were achieved in the legal system, highlighting that every case of violence brought by the Law must be investigated through a Police Inquiry, removing the incidence of Law 9,099/95 and referring it to the Public Prosecutor's Office.

Moreover, the crimes in question leave the common jurisdiction to be judged in the Specialized Courts for Domestic Violence against Women, with civil and criminal jurisdiction to cover family issues, which are extremely complex and of great relevance.

The Law meticulously points out the modalities of domestic violence situations, in addition to preventing the application of pecuniary penalties to aggressors. It provided for protective measures that nowadays have their non-compliance criminalized, and Law No. 13,827/2019 authorizes the application of an urgent protective measure by the police authority in case of current or imminent risk to the woman's life or physical integrity.

Furthermore, the Code of Criminal Procedure was amended to enable the judge to order preventive detention when there are risks to the woman's physical or psychological integrity, in addition to having also amended the law on criminal executions to allow the judge to determine the mandatory attendance of the aggressor to recovery programs as a result of the use of violence against women. Moreover, it determines the referral of women to social assistance programs.

It should be noted that the Maria da Penha Law has a chapter directed to the assistance by the police authority for cases of domestic violence against women, establishing how the police authority should act when assisting women who are victims of these crimes that are still omitted by society.

Since the enactment of the law, there have been advances in the support network, such as the creation of more Specialized Police Stations for Assistance to Women (DEAMs) and Brazilian Women's Houses. New public policies to combat violence against women have also been implemented, such as the "Woman, Living without Violence" Program and the National Pact for Confronting Violence against Women.

Despite the advances, statistics on domestic violence in Brazil are still alarming, reinforcing the importance of the Maria da Penha Law and the need for continuous improvement of protection measures.

We still hope for more progress, so report it, together we are stronger!

Annie Santos Ponce Montini

OAB/SP 360.523