On March 27th, the Maria da Penha Institute held the Gender and Democracy and Human Rights for Women Webinar, which featured speakers Maria da Penha Fernandes, Minister of State for Women Cida Gonçalves, lawyers Leila Linhares Barsted, Silvia Pimentel, Myllena Calasans and Marilha Boldt, mediated by journalist Mariana Kotscho, a columnist for TV Globo.
The webinar highlighted the importance of the Belém do Pará Convention, the process of drafting the Maria da Penha Law and the 30th anniversary of the Belém do Pará Convention. The difficulty of implementing the Maria da Penha Law and complying with Article 8 of the Belém do Pará Convention was acknowledged. The work of the Maria da Penha Law Consortium to End Gender-Based Violence against Women was highlighted, as was the need to create new specialized women’s courts and to implement the hybrid jurisdiction of these courts to hear criminal and civil cases.