Women victims of violence gain more security with Ronda Maria da Penha

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall launched this Friday (12/03), in partnership with the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJRJ), the Ronda Maria da Penha program of the Municipal Guard. Trained agents will work to verify compliance with protective measures granted by the Court of Domestic and Family Violence against Women in the capital. Mayor Eduardo Paes, alongside Joyce Trindade and Brenno Carnevale, secretaries of Women's Policies and Promotion and Public Order, respectively, were present at the launch ceremony, held at the Palácio da Cidade, Botafogo.

– When we launched the Ronda Maria da Penha program, it was so that the city would treat women’s issues with due attention and focus. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, we have a set of very important public policies that primarily and directly affect women, many of which I am proud to have created during my previous administrations. Unfortunately, vulnerable women are a scourge that plagues our society. It is crazy to think that the number of feminicides has increased during a pandemic – lamented the mayor, who added:

 

 

Secretary Joyce Trindade sees the initiative as a great achievement. She emphasized that the Secretariat for Women's Policies and Promotion is available to support and resolve the problem of violence against women.

- It is a victory to be here with so many institutions responsible for combating violence against women. We understand that this violence impacts not only women but society as a whole. Together, we understand that we have to think about public policies, services, and actions to protect and increasingly empower our women – said Joyce.

The Maria da Penha Patrol will have 31 municipal guards and the support of four patrol cars, which have been decorated with lilac stripes and the program's logo. The patrol officers will be assisted by three officers, and there will always be at least one female guard on the team. The Secretary of Public Order expressed his satisfaction with the launch of the program.

– We are committed to putting our public functions at the service of protecting women, an urgent issue that deserves the attention of the government. It is with great concern, but also with great energy that we will use municipal resources, our valuable municipal guard, to make the achievement of the Maria da Penha Law more effective, which is to bring more dignity to these women, especially women made vulnerable by violence – assured Carnevale.

 

 

The main mission of patrol officers is to verify compliance with protective measures created to prevent acts of domestic and family violence. After receiving notification from the Domestic and Family Violence Court against Women in the capital, municipal guards will go to the home of the woman who has had the measure granted to verify whether the aggressor is complying with it. Not approaching the victim, not maintaining contact or not frequenting certain places are among the protective measures most often used to prevent the repetition of violence against women.

Also present at the ceremony was Judge Sueli Magalhães, who praised the City Hall's initiative and said that the partnerships between the City Hall and the Court of Justice will yield new results.

– The Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro, through the State Coordination Office for Women in Situations of Domestic Violence, is honored to participate in this significant event. This is the “For Peace at Home” week and it is very significant that this week we are telling the vulnerable population, which are women, elderly people and children who are victims of domestic violence: the mayor of the city and his entire staff are concerned about you. It is with great joy that we welcome the Maria da Penha Patrol. To all its valuable employees, these municipal guards who will work to make the measures granted by the judges effective – emphasized the judge of the TJRJ.

Creation of the effective body of the Maria da Penha Patrol

The first step in creating the Maria da Penha Patrol was to present the project to the agents, who volunteered to join the first team. The second stage of the selection process analyzed the candidates based on their patrolling role, profile, personality, assertiveness, and social skills, among others.

After this process, the municipal guards participated in a training course, which included lectures in person and via videoconference, held by the Teaching Academy in São Cristóvão. During the training, which had a total workload of 54 hours, the future patrol officers had classes on techniques for approaching, welcoming and monitoring victims; on the Maria da Penha Law and its legal aspects; psychosocial approaches to violence; women's rights; legal routines and procedures; social assistance services; among other subjects.

In addition, the agents attended lectures with other institutions that already carry out this work, such as the Municipal Guards of Mangaratiba, Macaé and Duque de Caxias; Military Police, Public Defender's Office, among others. They also participated in a supervised internship with agents from the Municipal Guard of Duque de Caxias, in Baixada Fluminense, and accompanied visits to women who have been granted protective measures in order to learn a little more about the work they will carry out in Rio.

The guards also visited entities that play an important role in assisting victims and preventing violence, including the Women's Temporary Shelter Judicial Center (Cejuvida) and the Specialized Women's Assistance Center (CEAM).

Category:

• City
• Municipal guard
• News
• Public Order
• Women's Protection Policies

March 12th, 2021

Appointments: Eduardo Paes City Hall of Rio Special Secretariat for Women's Policies and Promotion seop