Hundreds of women gathered on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo on Saturday (April 25) to demand approval of bill PL 896/23, which criminalizes misogyny. The protest came a day after Chamber president Hugo Motta announced a working group to discuss the bill, approved by the Senate in March. The event was called by Levante Mulheres Vivas.
The gathering started around 2 p.m. in front of the Masp's free space, and by 4:20 p.m., protesters marched along two lanes of the avenue without fully blocking traffic. The crowd was mostly female, carrying signs like "For the criminalization of misogyny" and a red balloon reading "Zero femicide".
Rachel Ripani, co-founder of Levante Mulheres Vivas, told Folha: "It's very important because we don't know how the country will be after the elections." She urged approval before recess to prevent the bill from stalling again, emphasizing its role in fighting online misogyny.
The working group, led by Deputy Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP), will last 45 days with one member per party. Bill PL 896/23, authored by Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PSB-MA) with a substitute by Soraya Thronicke (Podemos-MS), equates misogyny to racism, with 2-to-5-year sentences, non-bailable and imprescriptible.
Deputy Sonia Guajajara (PSOL-SP) pointed to high femicide rates in indigenous territories. Protesters sang anthems like "Maria, Maria" and represented groups such as MTST and UNE.
