Every day, girls are raped in their houses by the patriarchal family, a space which, romanticized by the Catholic Church and European habits, should be a protective place.
It is well known, however, that the lack of state protection directly impacts the daily lives of families, since the absence or dismantling of public policies that guarantee minimum survival conditions jeopardizes the socially established role of care attributed to the family.
Rapes in Brazil take place mostly (68.3%) at the victim's home, which, according to data from the Public Security Forum 2023 are mostly (61.4%) female children aged between 0 and 13. That means that the majority of people raped are girls, and they are the ones who end up pregnant during childhood, the result of crimes committed inside the home.
The age cut-off of up to 13 years is important because it is marked by the legal understanding that this is [14 years] the minimum age considered for sexual consent from the perspective of maturity to be able to exercise their right to choose.
The majority of these girls have their right to safe and legal abortion, even though it has been provided for in Article 128 of the Brazilian Penal Code since the 1940s.
Therefore, we can say that these girls are denied the right to dignity and the full protection of their childhood. They are forced by their families and/or the state to become mothers when they are still children, due to the failure to implement a public policy established decades ago.
Although the Bill 1904/24, which has brought thousands onto the streets, predominantly targets children, contrary to stereotypes, abortions are also carried out by ordinary women.
Abortion already occurs frequently among young women and women who already are or intend to become mothers. The women who have abortions are wives, single women, workers, and unemployed women from all Brazilian regions, social classes, racial groups, educational backgrounds and religions.
This does not mean, however, that abortion occurs equally among these social groups. There are differences. Those who die the most or have complications are women with low levels of education and income, Black and Indigenous people, not to mention significant regional differences.
Nevertheless, we can't talk about legalizing abortion without considering the rise of religious fundamentalism in our country. The moral agendas defended by these groups – linked mainly to reproductive rights and sexuality – are important flags that bind a large part of the working class to a project that targets them.
These agendas, which used to emerge during tempestuous speeches by a few media pastors or in large religious temples and local churches, today, especially after Jair Bolsonaro's administration, are seen in the executive and judiciary, as in the case of the rape bill.
That’s why it is a dispute over an ideological project, not a biomedical or legal one. As Brazilian researcher Debora Diniz once said, "Abortion is a less risky procedure for a ten-year-old's body than childbirth.”
Fighting against Bill 1904 and for the legalization and decriminalization of abortion is fighting for many of these girls living in a non-place – most of them Black and poor – to have the right to be children.
Fighting for the legalization of abortion means breaking with the state violence that occurs through medical (and legal) omission of authorities in guaranteeing access to legal and safe procedures to ensure women’s dignity, who are daily revictimized by new violence.
For capitalism, giving women the right to choose about their reproductive system means taking away from the state (responsible for managing the interests of the ruling class) the power to decide how many workers are left over, which devalues the workforce and guarantees a surplus for capitalists.
Now is the time to fight back, but also to announce abortion as a public health issue, fight against the criminalization of women and for the autonomy of our bodies in the face of the state, capital and men.
*Anna Keil is a speech therapist and part of the national coordination of the Popular Youth Uprising.
**Maria Clara Radi is a social worker and state coordinator of the Popular Youth Uprising
***The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent Brasil de Fato's stance.
Edited by: Pedro Carrano
