The federal government launched, this Wednesday (3), the Brazilian National Pact to Combat Feminicide. The proposal establishes an integrated commitment between the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches to combat violence against women, with prevention, protection, accountability for aggressors and guarantee of rights.
In December, in a meeting with government ministers, the STF and other authorities, the president highlighted the desire to expand the involvement of public authorities in combating violence against women and spoke of “taking responsibility” in creating the pact against femicide.
The initiative comes too late for the families of thousands of women killed simply for being women. Last year, Brazil broke records for this type of violence. There were 1,470 victims registered, according to the National Public Security Information System of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The number is the highest since 2015, when the panel began counting the records.
In an interview with Paula Valdez on Tarde Band News, the lawyer specializing in combating violence against women, Gabriela Mansur, warned that feminicide is the most serious action that arises from a cycle of other violence that also needs to be combatted.
“We have, unfortunately, seen a significant increase in crimes of violence against women in general. Femicide is just the tip of the iceberg and is the fatal blow to that cycle of violence that often starts with control, starts with a threat, a chase, a bodily injury, a beating and if there is no call for help, if there is not very effective action from the Public Security Secretariat, the Judiciary, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, we could lose this woman as a victim of feminicide.”
We also have to draw attention to those crimes that begin at the beginning of the cycle of violence. We have to pay attention when a woman asks for help in case of a threat, when she asks for help in case of a bodily injury, when she has a protective measure, a protective measure, so that she can somehow safely escape this cycle of violence”
According to data from the Ministry of Justice, the average in 2025 was approximately 4 women murdered per day. For Manssur, the lack of agility in responses to combat gender-based violence reinforces society’s general impression that legislation does not stop fatal acts against women.
“We have the third biggest and best law in the world, which is the Maria da Penha law, in terms of combating violence against women. And we also have other laws that are outside the Maria da Penha law, but which are also specific modern laws and are laws that in fact provide for the punishment of the aggressor. But what happens? The lack of a quick response, the lack of harsher penalties in cases prior to femicide, such as threats, bodily harm, we cannot have a case in which there is a beating of a woman in which we have a sentence of 1 year in prison that he can serve in an open regime”.
The increase in cases over the last decade highlights a growth trend. Between 2015 and 2025, the number of femicides jumped from 535 to 1,470, an increase of around 175% in the period. During the interview, the lawyer, who is also a reference in the fight against feminicide, made an emotional appeal.
“Violence against women cannot be underestimated and that is why we are seeing this increase, this growth. There is no point in just talking about the issue. It is obvious that we want the authorities to talk, debate about it, bring the topic to discussion, but just the speech not getting off the ground does not do anything.”
