While signing the decree establishing the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide on Wednesday (Feb. 4), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva argued that combating femicide and all forms of violence against women should be the responsibility of society – but above all of men.
“It’s not enough not to be an aggressor. We must also fight to ensure there are no more attacks. Every man in this country has a mission to fulfill,” he said during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace.
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The pact outlines coordinated and permanent action among the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil. The novelty, Lula said, is that for the first time they are assuming that the responsibility for defending women is not only women’s.
“We’re telling the Brazilian trade union movement that this is a topic for factory gates and workers’ assemblies. We’re telling congressmen and congresswomen that this is a topic for all their speeches,” he said.
“We’re trying to raise awareness among children, because it’s the duty of our teachers, as it’s a topic that spans from nursery school to university. This is an opportunity to create a new civilization, a civilization in which it’s not gender that makes the difference, but rather behavior and respect,” he added.
The ceremony was opened by First Lady Janja da Silva. She read a story narrated by a woman who was assaulted by her boyfriend, beaten in public, but who did not get help from people who witnessed the assault.
“We are all committed to creating a society where women can live in peace. We want you, men, in this fight, by our side,” she said.
Brazilian judiciary and legislative
Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin, argued that the changes should not be limited to the letter of the law. “We must act on several fronts to prevent, hold accountable, and protect [women],” he declared.
“Changing the law is important, but it is not enough. Changing the law must be accompanied by a change of hearts and minds in the state, in society, and most importantly, in families. This change begins when we start to act,” he went on to say.
The judiciary, he pointed out, signed this pact “with a sense of urgency and hope, committing itself fully to the initiative.” “True peace is not born of fear and silence, but flourishes when there is protection, freedom, and dignity,” he concluded.
Lower house speaker Hugo Motta noted that Brazil ended 2025 with an average of four women murdered per day.
“It is inconceivable that we allow these numbers to continue. This action [as outlined in the pact] cannot be delayed,” he said, stating that the legislative branch will work to toughen laws in order to punish “those who act in this way, through violence against women.”
“You can count on our priority in this agenda to change this reality,” he concluded.
Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said that Brazilian institutions are united in purposes such as this. “Femicide is not just statistics, but an open wound in Brazilian society,” which needs to be treated as a problem of the state, not of the government.
“[Femicide] is the cruelest side of violence that affects the lives of thousands every day. And the pact is, above all, a commitment between institutions and a declaration of responsibility by the Brazilian state, which reaffirms one of its fundamental duties to combat femicide with the utmost rigor, with absolute priority, and with permanent action,” he stated.
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