Reporters are blindfolded to visit secret shelter for women victims of violence with imminent risk of death | Profession Reporter

Reporters are blindfolded to visit secret shelter for women victims of rape

The house is run by NGO Restart, in the center of Mogi das Cruzes, which serves women in vulnerable situations and is located in a location protected by anonymity. Reporters from Profissão Repórter were blindfolded to access the institution by car, which is located far from the headquarters.

“Secrecy is something very important for us, because whoever spends the day with the aggressors looking for the woman”, explains Rosana Sant’ana Pierucetti, responsible for the NGO. “We have cooks, we have people who take care of the clothes, we have technicians who listen to women according to their needs. It’s a time for them to really reflect and dedicate themselves to their children,” she says.

According to Rosana, 80% of cases of domestic violence victims also involve rape within the relationship.

“It’s as if the woman has this obligation to submit to her partner in sexual relations even if she doesn’t feel like it”, he explains.

The routine of abuse also interferes with relationships with children. This is the case of one of the women interviewed for the report.

“When we have children at home, we prefer to remain quiet, not to go on, so as not to reflect on our children”, he says. “I had a four-year relationship with my son’s father. I noticed that when I didn’t give in to him, the next day he would take it out on our son. Then at night it would be a fight, an argument. It was a push, it was a slap , it was an insult. If we end up not giving in, we end up getting beaten up.”

When the victim went to the police, she reported that she was being attacked by her husband, but did not say that she was also a victim of rape. According to the report, she only became aware of the sexual abuse after moving to the shelter, where she has lived with her son for 3 months.

“At that moment I didn’t understand that it was blackmail “I had in my mind that it was just for his pleasure. I found out by talking to the girls at the reception.”

After escaping domestic violence, the woman discovered she was two months pregnant and decided to terminate the pregnancy. In Brazil, abortion is permitted by law in cases of rape.

“I simply want to take care of my son and live my life…look for a good job and walk down the street with my head held high without being afraid of anything.”

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