Alesp will have more women after cases of gender violence – 07/03/2023 – Politics

With a 39% growth in the number of women elected, the new Legislative Assembly of São Paulo, which takes office on March 15, follows a legislature marked by scandals of violence against women deputies.

There are 13 re-elected and 12 elected women who form the female bench of 25 deputies among the 94 parliamentarians of the House – in 2018, 18 were elected.

Deputies heard by Sheet they say they hope that the recent cases of machismo will have a pedagogical and warning effect for the legislature that is about to begin. But with a new wave of feminist deputies and conservative deputies arriving at the House, there is the expectation that conflicts will be reissued.

The case of deputy Isa Penna (PC do B), who was groped during a plenary session by deputy Fernando Cury (União Brasil) in December 2020, has become emblematic, but it was not an isolated episode of violence against women in Alesp.

Members report comments on appearance and dress, silencing strategies, unwanted touching and inappropriate conversations – in the elevator, in the hallways and in the plenary.

“The message is that we are not welcome”, says re-elected deputy Mônica Seixas, from Movimento Pretas, leader of PSOL. “How many times have I been intimate and not been able to make it prosper?” asks Analice Fernandes, leader of the PSDB, who is entering his sixth term.

The group of debutants includes Paula da Bancada Feminista (PSOL), Ediane Maria (PSOL) and Thainara Faria (PT) from the feminist left, and female deputies from the right and Bolsonaristas, such as Fabiana B. (PL) and Dani Alonso (PL). .

Fabiana says to Sheet that the “extremely serious situations” that occurred at Alesp had repercussions and that “this will certainly inhibit” new cases. “With more women, one helps and protects the other. I feel a decrease in machismo, I have freedom to speak, I have a voice and I am respected.”

Paula says that “ideological debates can be repeated”, linked to religion and customs. “The deputy responsible for harassing Isa Penna was not reelected, but so many others who bought clashes between the religious fundamentalist wing and trans women, like Erica Malunguinho [PSOL]were re-elected”, he points out.

The PSOL Feminist Bench also considers that the focus of the clash may come from outside Alesp.

“The biggest challenge for women is the appointment of Sonaira Fernandes [Republicanos] to the Women’s Secretariat. It is an affront to women’s rights. She is an anti-feminist who attacked transvestites and transsexuals. It will be difficult to advance in terms of public policies”, evaluates Paula.

“I don’t think this legislature will be easier. We changed some actors, but the stereotypes were renewed”, says Mônica, also mentioning the election of new Bolsonaristas and another member of the MBL, Guto Zacarias (União Brasil).

She says far-right lawmakers have “a hint of revanchism against feminism”. “There will be parliamentarians with a thirst for revenge and violence, but they will arrive at an Alesp that, as an institution, is marked by episodes [contra mulheres] and should be more attentive to that.”

“Everything that happened in the last term served as a lesson. We are on the way for the House to begin to recognize that the Ethics Council works, that we are not going to be silent, that we are mobilized. It is not easy, I do not give up speaking and I am as boring and quarrelsome”, says Analice.

Although the women’s bench pressed for Cury’s removal, the result of his suspension for six months was seen as a historic victory in the face of the peers’ attempt to protect him.

The impeachment, in turn, was applied to Arthur do Val (União Brasil), Mamãe Falei, in May 2022, for the sexist speech related to the Ukrainian victims of the war. “They are easy, because they are poor”, said the then deputy in leaked audio.

Deputy Wellington Moura (Republicans) was spared in the Ethics Council by 5 votes to 4 and did not face punishment in the House for having said, last May, that he would put a halter in Monica’s mouth. He, however, was denounced by the Electoral Public Ministry on charges of having committed gender violence.

The cases of Cury and Arthur also run in parallel in court, after being processed by the Ethics Council chaired by a woman, deputy Maria Lúcia Amary (PSDB).

It was also in this legislature that Douglas Garcia (Republicans) ended up saying that he would “slap” a trans woman from the women’s bathroom – the speech reached Malunguinho.

And there was also Luiz Fernando (PT) stating that Carla Morando (PSDB) owes her position to her husband, Mayor Orlando Morando (PSDB) of São Bernardo do Campo, and Enio Tatto (PT) saying that Janaina Paschoal (PRTB) was sitting on her lap of the then governor João Doria.

Mônica Sodré, political scientist and director of Raps (Political Action Network for Sustainability), claims to have the perception that sexism affects “women from all positions of the political and ideological spectrum”.

The reaction to machismo, on the other hand, is different on the left and on the right, in the assessment of Mônica, from the PSOL, for whom the trench is shared by progressive, anti-racist and feminist parliamentarians – which is not the case of all elected representatives.

“We must join forces, whether from the left or the right, in terms of being a woman so as not to let any violence happen to any deputy”, says Fabiana.

Questioned by the report about being a feminist, the deputy says that she no longer classifies herself that way. “I’m very Christian and I understood that Jesus preached freedom for women, but without feminism,” she says.

As Sodré points out, the obstacles faced by women in politics do not end with their election – it is necessary to invest in their permanence.

Isa tried to run for federal deputy in the midst of depression and was not elected. Malunguinho withdrew from the candidacy. And Mônica stepped away from her mandate for four months, in 2021, to take care of her mental health.

“I was ‘lucky’ to have collapsed in the middle of my mandate. I couldn’t leave the house and that has to do with the violence I have to face on a daily basis, in what should be my job”, says Mônica .

“Being ‘diagnosed crazy’ has become a new stereotype. But I was strengthened by the treatment and surrounded by the Movimento das Pretas, I was very much supported by a welcoming network, which made me run for re-election”, she completes.

“The space of politics is not seen as a space for women”, says Sodré, highlighting the cases of political gender violence not only in Alesp, but in the world.

“The increase in the number of women in the House is a positive indicator, which tends to bring changes and more attention to the issue, but only the election of more women is not enough to reduce the situation we are dealing with”, he completes.

At Raps, novice deputies are mentored by veteran deputies to exchange experiences. Sodré demands more measures from the parties, such as transparency in the budget that must be dedicated to promoting female participation. Another initiative would be to pay for lawyers and psychological treatment in cases of violence.