Violence Against Women Drives Refugee Applications in Brazil

A debate organized by Cáritas at the Memorial Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro brought together refugee women and feminist organizations to discuss transnational female solidarity and violence against women in countries of origin and Brazil. According to Cáritas, the proportion of women seeking asylum in Brazil rose from 30.1% in 2014 to 42.3% of total applications by November 2016. Nina Queiroga, institutional relations officer for Cáritas Rio de Janeiro's Refugee Assistance Program, linked this increase to violations women suffer in their home countries, citing the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has endured a 20-year war with 6 million deaths. Congolese refugee Mireille Muluila, in Brazil for two years, described institutionalized violence in her country, where rape is used as a weapon of war by rebel militias and occurs domestically, with forced marriages of pre-adolescent girls being common. The project Travessias, a film shown at the debate, emerged from letter-writing workshops led by Luciana Salvatore to document these women's stories. Bruna Rangel of the collective Não me Kahlo presented data on violence against women in Brazil, emphasizing the need for unity and civil society support, given the small female participation in Congress and difficulty implementing public policies.