| Rates of gun death in Brazil are among the world’s highest – and as elsewhere, the vast majority of these crimes are perpetrated by young men against other young men. But guns are also the number one instrument used to kill women, with around half of female homicides committed with a gun in recent years.
Violence against women and public (in)security have tended to be seen as quite separate, with the latter almost always taking precedence in both policy and research efforts in Brazil. Many studies have pointed out that survivors of intimate partner violence most frequently report beatings and other physical aggressions (not gunshot wounds). At the same time, because of machismo and other gendered power dynamics, this crime is rarely recognised, studied, reported or punished in Brazil. There is a clear need for more research and advocacy to understand the links and common policy objectives in efforts to prevent both urban violence and violence against women.
Instituto ProMundo: Working with men to reduce violence against women
Such advocacy is provided in part by the innovative Rio-based NGO Instituto ProMundo. Like Keanu Reeves in the film The Matrix, youth participating in projects learn to reflect critically on how behaviour and attitudes are shaped by societal ‘programming.’ According to director Gary Barker, the aim of the projects, directed mainly at young men in Rio’s notoriously violent and macho favela communities, is to help unveil the ‘matrix’ of gender constructions – and to understand how this affects their everyday life, from how to deal with loss and frustrations, using contraception or seeking health services, to choices about whether or not to join an armed gang, engage in criminal activities or use violence against their partners, their families or their peers.
To this end, the organisation’s Programa H (for the Portuguese homem or man) is a social intervention that utilises:
- Educational activities and group discussions to prevent violence and promote healthy practices with respect to sexuality, fatherhood, violence, anger-management, etc;
- Campaigns to transform societal attitudes, particularly with regard to what it means to ‘be a man’ – for example, the white ribbon campaign, active in several countries around the world, for men against violence against women; and
- Community organisations to reach out to and support young men in violent contexts, particularly in public health and counselling services.
Working with men to reduce violence against women and other men is a fairly new concept in Brazil. ProMundo recognized back in 1999 that ‘gender’ tended to be understood as a synonym for ‘women’ and that while there was a small but growing body of research on masculinities and health, there were very few on-the-ground actions. Rather than focus on the negative expressions of masculinity (gun use, violence, risky behaviour such as drug use or unsafe driving), the organisation decided to develop ways to get men involved in promoting gender equity, which it believes has a favourable impact on the health of youth.
The focus is to reinforce positive attitudes and behaviours and build resilience among young men, who in spite of living in a context of violence and social marginalization, choose not to engage in harmful behaviours. For example, in a study conducted by ProMundo, 26% of men aged 15 -60 said they had used physical violence against a recent intimate partner. ‘But even if you correct for underreporting, there is still a majority of men and boys there who choose to do the right thing, men who question resorting to violence and seek more equitable relationships,’ Gary said.
Building on the success of Programa H, the organisation has created Programa M, for women (mulher), and Programa D, for diversity. In addition, ProMundo has developed a sophisticated scale to measure progress towards gender equity in values and behaviours, as well as a detailed questionnaire to provide quantitative and qualitative evaluations of their work. It also provides trainings and develops on-going partnerships with other organisations around the world to design and implement locally-appropriate versions of the programs in countries such as India, Mexico, and the United States.
Recent Progress
It is through the hard work and dedication of organisations such as Instituto ProMundo and IANSA member Viva Rio that the situation in Brazil is improving.
Today, Brazil has specialised police precincts to respond to cases of violence against women, called Delegacias da Mulher – though in 2002, there were only 325 in the whole country.
Although the vast majority of these crimes still go unpunished, Brazil toughened legislation on violence against women in 2004; where previously offenders paid a nominal fee or did community service, they can now be sentenced to up to five years in jail.
Brazil also passed significant reforms to gun laws in 2003, which make it illegal for most civilians to carry guns and more difficult to obtain permission to own one, and sets a referendum for October 2005 to decide whether to ban civilian possession of firearms.
Action-oriented research on the roles and reactions of women and girls in armed violence in Rio began in February. The goal is to fill the current advocacy/research/policy gap by profiling women in a non-war setting, to help develop gender-appropriate strategies for reducing gun violence, and to mobilize women for the ongoing gun buy-back and gun ban referendum in Brazil. The 18-month case study is a partnership between Viva Rio and the Centro de Estudos para a Paz at Coimbra University in Portugal, funded by the Ford Foundation.
For more information on ProMundo, please visit the website or write to Gary Barker at
g.barker@promundo.org.br. For more information on gun violence in Brazil generally email
jessica@vivario.org.br or
tatiana@ces.uc.pt.
Article contributed by Jessica Galeria of IANSA member Viva Rio.
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