The 1988 Constitution of Brazil upholds the principle of equality between men and women, particularly within the family, and prohibits all forms of discrimination. It also sets forth the State’s obligation to eradicate all forms of domestic violence. The government recently amended the 1916 Civil Code and the Penal Code of 1940, both of which included provisions that were sexist and discriminated against women. For example, the concept of an “honest woman” was removed and adultery was decriminalised.
The country is a federal state and many legal provisions are defined by state legislations. Women are increasingly present in the production sector and the job market in general, but professional segmentation on the basis of gender and wage inequality persists. Unemployment among Brazilian women is rising, and the situation of black women and women in rural areas is even more precarious. Furthermore, violence is a major problem for women in Brazil.
The Brazilian Family Code provides a moderate degree of protection for women in regard to family matters. The minimum legal age for marriage is 16 years for both women and men, on the condition of obtaining authorisation from the parents or a legal representative. The incidence of early marriage remains quite high in Brazil: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 17 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Polygamy is not practised in Brazil. The new 2003 Civil Code refers to family authority rather than paternal authority and grants equal rights to the mother and father, in the interests of the couple and the children. In the event of divorce, child custody is generally granted to the mother.
Brazilian women have the same inheritance rights as men.
The government recently introduced measures to improve protection of the physical integrity of Brazilian women, but much more remains to be done. Violence against women is common and represents a widespread social problem. Under the 1940 Penal Code, the sentence imposed for violence against a woman was annulled if the offender married the victim, or if the victim married another man. These provisions were abolished with legal amendments established in 2005.
Today, the majority of crimes committed within the family or the household are governed by a law adopted in 1995. A general increase in the number of convictions has been observed in recent years, but judicial decisions often reflect persistent stereotypes and are frequently prejudicial to women. In 2006, the government passed a law that provided the first clear definition of domestic violence and tripled the severity of sentences for offenders. Domestic violence affects all social and ethnic groups in Brazil, but the problem is exacerbated by poverty. Social responses to violence against women began to emerge in the 1980s, after feminist groups brought the problem to society’s attention. Several groups launched awareness campaigns and the government established special police posts dedicated to the defence of women.
There is no evidence to suggest that female genital mutilation is practised in Brazil, nor does it appear to be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Officially, Brazilian women have the same ownership rights as men, but inequalities persist. Access to land is legally guaranteed to women and land can therefore be granted to a man or a woman, irrespective of marital status. However, almost all the beneficiaries of the 1996 land reform were men; women were considered to be their husbands’ dependents. To remedy the situation, the Ministry of Agrarian Reform introduced a quota system that attributes one-third of the funds for financing agrarian reform to women.
Until recently, Brazil’s Civil Code discriminated against married women and restricted their access to property other than land. Men were responsible for administering joint property and also acted as their wife’s “representative”, which gave them the authority to administer their wife’s individual property. The 2003 Civil Code gives each spouse equal rights and obligations in this area.
By law, Brazilian women have access to bank loans, but those in rural areas have more difficulty exercising this right. In response, the government recently introduced a quota system in rural development financing programmes. Many official documents in the banking and credit sector are still gender-biased, with masculine pronouns throughout. Loans are often granted to the head of the household, which effectively limits married women’s access to bank loans.
Brazilian women do not seem to be restricted in the exercise of their civil liberties. There are no reported restrictions on women’s freedom of movement or freedom of dress. The 2003 Civil Code stipulates that spouses must decide together where they will live. This is a significant step forward: in the past, wives were obliged to live in their husbands’ place of residence.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2002), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Brazil, Combined Initial, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of States Parties, CEDAW/C/BRA/1-5, CEDAW, New York, NY.
CEDAW (2005), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Brazil, Sixth Periodic Report of States Parties, CEDAW/C/BRA/6, CEDAW, New York, NY.
IBASE (Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses) (2000), Observatorio de Ciadadania, IBASE, Rio de Janeiro.
INCRA (National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform) (1998), Agrarian Reform Census in Brazil, Extraordinary Ministry of Agrarian Policy, Brasilia.
JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) (1999), Country WID Profile (Brazil), JICA Planning and Evaluation Department, Tokyo.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
UN (2006), In-depth Study on all Forms of Violence Against Women, Report of the Secretary-General, UN General Assembly 61st Session A/61/122/Add.1, UN, New York, NY.
UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) (2006), Violence Against Women – Facts and Figures, UNIFEM, New York, NY.
US Department of State (2007), Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Brazil, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
World Bank (2002), Brazil Gender Review: Issues and Recommendations, Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit, Brazil Country Management Unit, Report No. 2344-BR, World Bank, Washington, DC.
