Two main characters from the soap opera Mulheres Apaixonadas (Women in Love), Téo and Fernanda, are caught in a shoot-out on the streets of Rio de Janeiro in an episode that aired in August. For the sixty million Brazilians who follow the series, Fernanda’s death – she was struck by a stray bullet – hit too close to home; the issue of gun violence echoed
in the media and in the national conscience. According to the Women in Love website, “The scene is a strong statement against the banalization of violence. With one unified voice, society responded with a cry for justice -- we can no longer wait, impotent, for the resolution of a problem that is and has been for some time a true national tragedy.”

In a unique partnership with Viva Rio, the Globo network agreed to incorporate a large manifestation against gun violence, timed to support approval of the Disarmament Statute, into the script of the novela. Characters from the series discussed and participated in the Gun Free Brasil march, in an episode that aired the day after the real-life event. The network broadcast commercials calling on the population to attend the rally and various prime-time news stories were dedicated to
the growing problem of armed violence.