Santa Catarina Deputy Claims Harassment “Strokes Women’s Ego”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Santa Catarina state deputy Jessé Lopes got involved in a new controversy over the weekend. Criticizing the action of the feminist collective “No is No!” (“Não é Não!”), which for the first time will perform in Florianópolis next Carnival, Jessé said harassment “strokes the ego” of women.

The deputy further stated that being harassed is a woman’s “right”, and that actions to fight it are “jealousy from frustrated women who are not whistled at in front of a building site”.

The feminist collective intends to distribute temporary tattoos with a simple but quite clear message: “No!” The goal is to fight harassment situations to which women are exposed. The group is in search of resources, with the help of donations, until January 16th through an online platform.

The deputy’s text was published on Saturday, January 11th, and had over a thousand comments by Sunday night. The post’s original version has been edited, and the deputy added that it referred to “being flirted, wanted, praised”.

In one of the comments, a young woman said: “I can only feel sorry for all the people who have been harassed and read this text. I wish all this was only a satire”.

In response, the deputy searched the girl’s social media for a photo in which she displays a low-cut outfit, and wrote: “In this photo, you don’t seem to be very concerned about harassment. You are actually very pretty. Congratulations”.

The discussion gained new repercussions, and the young woman, who does not want to be identified, said she was targeted by a number of attacks on her personal page.

In the deputy’s post, the issue led many Internet users to support the girl and accuse Jessé of harassment. The deputy eventually deleted the messages in which he exposed the girl. She said on Sunday that she does not intend to pursue the case.

“Many lawyers reached me saying that they could help me and even represent me at no cost, but I don’t want to get involved anymore. I feel awful about this kind of thing and I don’t think I am strong enough for this. I even asked for respect from those who were cursing the deputy. I don’t think that’s the way to solve things.”

As for the publication of her picture by Jessé, the young woman says she found the attitude “weird”. “Not for “alleged harassment”, but for inferring that with my clothes, in that photo, I was inclined to or “begging” to be harassed”.

In an interview on Sunday night, January 12th, Jessé Lopes said he made the statements on social media because feminists lend a “mistaken and extremist meaning” to harassment. In relation to the Internet user, he said he wanted to “show that he was right”. The conversation was held through cell phone messages.

This is not the first time that Jessé Lopes has become involved in controversies regarding women. On December 10th, he triggered a public note from the Women’s Bench of the Legislative Assembly, after publishing a list of “advice” to feminists to prevent rape: let body hair grow, dye and cut hair “all wrong”, dress poorly, do not go to the gym. “Solved, now not even a beggar will look at you.”