VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBR #0010/01 0051357
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051355Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0260
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KWMN
SUBJECT: CDA GATHERS INFLUENTIAL WOMEN TO PARTNER ON THE ELIMINATION 
OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN 
 
REF: 09 STATE 120322; 09 BRASILIA 1365 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1. In an effort to highlight the work of activists and 
organizations at the forefront of addressing violence against 
women, on December 9 Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Lisa Kubiske and 
emboffs visited Civil Police Chief Sandra Gomes de Melo at the 
Women's Precinct (DEAM) in Brasilia.  The next day, the CDA hosted 
a luncheon for prominent women law enforcement and judicial leaders 
in honor of the International Day for Human Rights to learn more 
about the opportunities and challenges for women in Brazil, and to 
discuss how our two countries may partner more concretely to 
promote the advancement of women.  All of the contacts expressed 
strong interest in a partnership with the USG on working toward 
raising awareness, assistance programs and stronger prosecution of 
perpetrators of domestic violence.  Although both GOB and USG 
resources remain limited, we plan to continue to promote dialogue 
and cooperation on this topic to successfully implement many of the 
proposed programs. 
 
END SUMMARY 
 
 
 
 
CIVIL POLICE PRECINCT FOR WOMEN 
 
 
 
 
¶2. Specialized women's precincts (DEAMs) were created 25 years ago, 
the first in Sao Paulo.  Although there are around 400 DEAMs in 
Brazil, most are in the South, and a few are in the Northeast. 
There is one DEAM in Ceara in the Northeast because of the efforts 
of Maria da Penha - the first woman to fight for the sentencing of 
her husband for domestic violence and the stimulus for Brazil's law 
against domestic violence (Reftel 09 Brasilia 1365).  CDA and 
emboffs visited the (22 -year old) DEAM in Brasilia with the 
highest number of domestic violence reports (40 percent) in the 
Federal District. Primarily female police officers and chiefs work 
in 24-hour shifts, divided into groups that have one police chief, 
four policewomen and one clerk.  There is also a multidisciplinary 
team with one social anthropologist, one social worker and two 
psychologists who offer assistance to the women.  All women who 
come to the precinct have a right to shelter at a shelter house 
provided by the state government.  They are entitled to a forensic 
medical examination for evidence and there they receive a kit 
containing new clothing and toiletries.  The old clothes are kept 
as evidence in case charges are brought against the assailant. 
Ongoing renovations to the precinct will include private interview 
rooms for women to file their reports and a play room for children. 
 
 
 
¶3. The police also have a mobile precinct van that is equipped with 
laptops connected to the police database (see photo attached 
photo). These vans go to underserved neighborhoods to hear 
complaints and educate women on how and when to complain and on all 
their rights. They train community leaders, volunteer prosecutors, 
professors, and medical doctors as part of this effort to educate 
women about their rights. Their plan is to expand this program and 
teach domestic violence awareness to adolescents in 2010. 
 
 
 
¶4. There are approximately 9000 cases of violence against women a 
year in the Federal District of Brasilia which has a population of 
about 2.5 million; 4000 of the cases are filed in the precinct 
visited, and each case receives a police investigation and 
write-up.  The precinct chief guesstimated that approximately one 
third of domestic violence reports received here are taken all the 
way to prosecution.  Many judges offer treatment or therapy to the 
violator instead of sentencing. 
 
 
 
 
WOMEN LEADERS MEET TO DISCUSS WOMEN'S ISSUES 
 
 
¶5. The following day, the CDA hosted a lunch for prominent women 
leaders including Ellen Gracie Northfleet, Justice of the Supreme 
Court and a former Fulbrighter; Ambassador Vera Lucia Barrouin 
Machado, U/S for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign 
 
 
Affairs; Chief Sandra Gomes de Melo, Head of the Women's Precinct 
in Brasilia who just launched the "Safe Women" Project; and Saba 
Cordeiro Macedo of the Federal District section of the Brazilian 
Bar Association. 
 
 
 
¶6. The CDA used the lunch to set the stage for future cooperation 
on gender issues.  A GOB proposed bilateral MOU on gender, now 
under consideration in Washington, has a strong emphasis on 
bilateral judicial, law enforcement, and political cooperation to 
promote women's rights, including the fight against gender-based 
violence and equal access to the judicial system.  With that in 
mind, the CDA encouraged a focus on justice and the law enforcement 
sector to target those that need this specific assistance.  The CDA 
emphasized the importance of women's issues to the Secretary of 
State. 
 
 
 
¶7. Our Brazilian guests identified the primary challenges facing 
victims of domestic violence, among them, that the perpetrators are 
not often brought to justice due to the current judicial system, 
which allows for multiple appeals.  There is a breakdown after the 
charges are presented and often these cases do not make it into 
court either due to lack of financial resources from the victim or 
the way they are counseled and made to feel that it would be 
problematic for them to pursue prosecuting the father of their 
children or other such suggestive comments. 
 
 
 
ACTIONS 
 
¶8. Challenged to develop ideas for concrete projects, participants 
at the meeting agreed to ask top level attorneys to commit to pro 
bono work with the goal of bringing more criminals to justice. This 
would also encourage younger lawyers to be engaged in cases of 
violence against women. 
 
 
 
¶9. Women's Precinct Chief Melo discussed the goals of a recently 
launched Brazilian "Safe Women" Project: 
 
-    To make people, specifically women, aware of domestic 
violence. 
 
-    To encourage women to use the services available to protect 
them. 
 
-    To provide a more humanized service to those who become a 
victim. 
 
-    To enforce the Maria da Penha law. 
 
 
 
¶10. Participants at the lunch agreed to support this project 
through the following initial actions: 
 
-    Initiate a campaign similar to "Dress for Success", through 
which women can donate clothes, shoes, and accessories.  These 
items would go to women of low income communities, who are victims 
of violence, have low self esteem, and are afraid to go to court to 
face their assailants. 
 
-    Engage with the Brazilian Bar Association to inspire new 
lawyers to work with women's issues. 
 
-    Involve women and men in the advertising industry to create 
campaigns countering violence against women. 
 
 
 
COMMENT: 
 
¶11. With the departure of Brazil's RLA due to a lack of funding, it 
will be more difficult to follow up on these issues, among others, 
in which the RLA was leading our partnership effort with Brazil. 
Nonetheless, we plan to continue to encourage this open dialogue 
between the USG and the GOB, and to include prominent local women 
leaders in UN organizations and NGOs to work toward common 
interests in the elimination of domestic violence and punishment 
for those that commit this crime. 
 
 
 
 
The Civil Police mobile precinct van.  Pictured from left to right: 
Vera Galante, Public Affairs; Meribeth Culver, Political; Chief 
Sandra Gomes de Melo Head of the Women's Precinct in Brasilia; Lisa 
Kubiske, Charge d'Affaires, a.i.; and Socorro Leal, Political. 
KUBISKE