On Tuesday, August 23, Rio de Janeiro’s electoral court opened the first criminal case registered in Brazil for gender-based political violence.
About three months earlier, a regional deputy had called a transgender councilwoman a “sexual anomaly.” The incidents occurred on May 17, after a session of the Rio Legislative Assembly in which deputy Rodrigo Amorim insulted the councilwoman of Niterói, Benny Briolly, with contemptuous and discriminatory words in a speech.
In his speech, the deputy called Briolly “Beelzebub” and referred to her as an “abnormality of nature,” among other things.
The lawsuit was filed by prosecutors Neide Cardoso de Oliveira and José Augusto Vagos, who argued that in his speech, the deputy “intimidated, humiliated and harassed” the councilwoman “because she is a trans woman.”
The court’s decision, which was unanimous among its six members, makes Amorim the first person to be charged with gender-based political violence in South America’s largest country.
The crime of gender-based political violence was created in August 2021, which was seen as a victory for the women’s caucus in Brazil’s Congress. Under Brazilian law, political violence against women is considered “any act, behavior or omission to prevent, hinder, or limit the political rights of women.”
It also guarantees that women’s rights to political participation are fulfilled by “prohibiting discrimination and unequal treatment based on sex or race.” The penalty for gender-based political violence can be up to four years in prison and a fine, but if the attacks are committed over the Internet, the punishment is harsher and can be extended to up to six years.
With information from Latina Press