Marcia Castro: The challenge of women’s health in Brazil – 03/12/2023 – Marcia Castro

The last day 8 marked International Women’s Day. The date was made official by the UN (United Nations) in 1977 and has its roots in women’s struggle for rights since the end of the 19th century.

The entity adopts several international days in order to raise awareness among the population, mobilize resources and political will, celebrate what has been achieved and reinforce the need for new conquests.

This year, she established Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality (DigitALL) as the theme for International Women’s Day.

The idea is to highlight the need for inclusive and transformative technology and digital education, promoting women’s and girls’ awareness of their rights and civic engagement.

Last Wednesday (8), in Brasilia, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) presented a package of measures aimed at women that address issues such as equal pay, violence against women, menstrual dignity and entrepreneurship. Some of these measures still need to be approved by Congress. All will be welcome.

In the area of ​​health, however, the challenges are many, such as maternal mortality and violence.

Brazil is committed to reducing the maternal mortality ratio to a maximum of 30 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2030 (Sustainable Development Goals). It is practically impossible to reach this goal. The maternal mortality ratio in 2021 was around 110, almost double that of 2019, with large regional variations (281.7 in Roraima).

Most of these deaths would be preventable with basic care, quality prenatal care, humanized care during childbirth and hospital care after childbirth. In addition, the mortality of pregnant and postpartum women by Covid-19 in Brazil was one of the highest in the American continent.

Women are the main victims of rape. About 61% of victims in 2021 were children and adolescents aged 13 and under. I cannot find an adjective to describe an individual who rapes a child (19% of victims were aged 5-9). They are interrupted childhoods, destroyed lives.

A study by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) estimates that the situation is much worse than official figures indicate, as only 8.5% of rapes are reported to the police and 4.2% to the health system.

With regard to domestic violence, in 2021 there were about one call per minute denouncing assaults. One of the strategies to combat violence is the Casa da Mulher Brasileira, a space for humanized and specialized care for women in situations of violence. The first was inaugurated in 2015, but with the lack of investment in prevention and protection of victims, at the end of the Bolsonaro government, only seven houses were in operation. In the coming years, the plan is to have one in every capital.

The lack of prevention and protection policies also led to an increase in femicide. In 2022, the highest number was recorded since 2015, when Law 13,104 included feminicide in the list of heinous crimes. There were 1,410 feminicides (3.9 deaths per day), 5% more than in 2021, about 80% committed by the victim’s partner or ex-partner.

Violence against women is stamped daily on the pages of newspapers and on TV news. Still, there is a long way to go for this scenario to be reversed.

Despite these challenges, it is women, for the most part, who struggle on the front lines of the health system. This woman’s courage and strength are sensitively portrayed in the documentary “When the air is missing”, which premiered in theaters on the 9th. See, reflect, fight for change.

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