On May 10th, the Paulista School of the Judiciary (EPM) began the preparatory course for the 16th annual meeting of Fonavid (National Forum of Judges on Domestic and Family Violence). The course was attended by 365 participants, in person and online, from 19 states across the country, and is focused on analyzing international regulations, the Maria da Penha Law, advances, achievements and challenges in order to formulate proposals to improve access to justice for women in situations of violence.
The opening ceremony was attended by the president of the São Paulo Court of Justice, judge Fernando Antonio Torres Garcia, vice-director of the EPM, the president of the XVI Fonavid, judge Teresa Cristina Cabral Santana, judge Flora Maria Nesi Tossi, coordinator of the São Paulo State Judiciary’s Coordination of Women in Situations of Domestic and Family Violence, and several other judges from the São Paulo State Court of Justice. The president of FONAVID recalled that this Forum carries out various actions in conjunction with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office and other justice institutions.
Leila Linhares Barsted and Ana Teresa Iamarino took part in the course’s inaugural lecture. Leila Barsted recalled the context of the social movements of the 20th century, which helped to promote the fight against violence in various countries. She recalled that the 1994 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, known as the Belém do Pará Convention, was the result of great mobilization and the influence of feminist movements, highlighted the legislative advances in Brazil, and stressed that violence against women is structural and lies at the root of society and the State. Professor Ana Teresa Iamarino pointed out that the Belém do Pará Convention was the first binding treaty to recognize violence against women as a violation of human rights and pondered that even after 30 years, the Convention is still innovative, being a reference for the interpretation of various laws and decisions, and was the basis for the drafting of the Maria da Penha Law.
