Reports of pain, suffering, cutting testimonials, cries for help, warning signs, but also words of struggle and confrontation to any kind of violence against women, whether physical, economic or psychological. On the date before the celebration of 15 years of the Maria da Penha Law, the State Coordination of Women in Situations of Domestic and Family Violence and the Monitoring Committee of Combat and Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Against Women (CPVID), in partnership with the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (ESMAT) held on the afternoon of Friday, August 6th, a public hearing TJTO with the network of confrontation of domestic and family violence against women.
Due to pandemic health restrictions, the event took place virtually, through Esmat's YouTube page. The audience aimed to open dialogue and listen to representatives of public and non-governmental institutions in the fight against domestic violence, and to formalize a letter of intentions for new policies to confront intrafamily violence.
Opening the hearing, Judge Cirlene Maria de Assis Santos de Oliveira, coordinator of the Committee for Monitoring the Combat and Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence against Women (CPVID), began by calling on all of society to combat violence against women, feminicide, and misogyny. "We need to work to combat domestic violence with multidisciplinary teams. Eventually we will fall, but it is necessary to get up, work to break the barrier of sexism, and mainly have a systemic look at this problem. In most cases, it is necessary to punish the aggressor, but it is also necessary to re-educate him. Just punishing doesn't solve the issue of domestic violence", she affirmed.
For Judge Odete Batista Dias Almeida, president of the Association of Magistrates of the State of Tocantins (ASMETO), the importance and necessity of the public hearing are duties of society and the government. "It is certain that commitments and actions of this nature, such as the present Public Hearing, reflect society's commitment to relevant issues and deserve constant reflection by all, reason why ASMETO congratulates the creators of this Event, due to the unique symbolism it represents in the search for harmony, social peace, and respect to women's dignity. We wish an excellent dialogue and that the next Letter of Intent for the implementation of new policies to fight this evil is always based on respect and legality, whose premises should permeate the matter under discussion and enhance the democratic rule of law," he said.
In her speech, Judge Aline Bailão Iglesias, coordinator of Citizenship and Justice of the General Internal Affairs of Justice reinforced the importance of the initiative. "There is nothing more democratic than a round of conversation, a public hearing with actions and representatives of various public and private entities, with the objective of coordinating the actions; to direct the actions of the CPVID and other bodies. We need to know each other, we are several people acting in several fronts with the same objective, this kind of meeting is what makes the real construction of the confrontation network", he remembered.
In the expositions of several combative women, the debates were mediated by professors Graziela Reis and Grazieli Cristina Lopes Ribeiro. The audience included judges, indigenous and quilombola leaders, small-scale extraction workers, parliamentarians, students, academic professors, members of the security forces, and representatives of non-governmental entities that support women victims of violence. Voices from social environments of struggle and confrontation in several municipalities of the state of Tocantins reported on safety issues, the need for shelter, public policies and female empowerment to fight against this evil that still afflicts and bothers Brazilian society and that needs to be fought.
