Sociologist Muniz Sodré discusses feminicide as an endemic issue in Brazil, rooted in historical silences and patriarchal dichotomies. He highlights the end of the violence of silence due to laws and feminist movements. The column emphasizes the need for education to prevent violence against women.
Muniz Sodré, sociologist and emeritus professor at UFRJ, publishes in Folha de S.Paulo a reflection on the 'genealogy of the perfect crime,' referring to violence against women. He explains that feminicide is not a recent epidemic but a cultural endemic that has always existed, varying by region. The current shock stems from the end of the silence imposed on victims and authorities, which previously minimized statistics due to the restricted female voice in public and private spaces.
Sodré credits advances to laws like the Maria da Penha Law and movements like Me Too, which raised women's awareness of the complicity produced by symbolic silence. He draws historical parallels: just as blacks and indigenous people emerged as organic intellectuals against racism, women now claim their speaking place. Violence, according to him, originates from absolute dichotomies like man/woman, where patriarchalism imposes submission, exemplified in Islamic dictatorships or high rape rates in India.
In Brazil, there are four feminicides per day, but police and judiciary are compelled to act, with discussion labs being established. Harsher punishments are ineffective without prevention; the focus should be on education from childhood to higher education. At the core, the macho denial of women's autonomous voice constitutes the 'perfect crime,' triggering narcissistic fury that leads to murders or assaults.
