RIO DE JANEIRO, July 25: The Brazilian Government and the United Nations launched a joint campaign against domestic violence in Brazil, on the fifth anniversary of the ``Candelaria massacre'' of eight adolescents in the streets of Rio De Janeiro.The ``Candelaria massacre,'' which took its name from the church outside of which the victims were sleeping, was committed by a death squad that targeted street children, most of them military police officers, several of whom have been convicted and sentenced.But the highest risk of violence faced by women and children is not in the streets, but in the home.In Brazil, like in many other countries, domestic violence is a major cause of deaths of women and children and one reason for the growing number of street children.But Brazil, where an estimated 23 per cent of women are victims of domestic abuse, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), lacks a law designed to crack down on the phenomenon. Three draft laws are currently shelved inCongress.A full 66.3 per cent of those accused of murdering women in 1995 and 1996 were husbands or companions of the victims, according to a study by the National Human Rights Movement (MNDH).And complaints filed with SOS Childhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, indicate that 64 per cent of physical abuse suffered by minors is at the hands of parents or other relatives, with the proportion climbing to 75 per cent in cases of sexual abuse.The problem is a global one. Worldwide, domestic violence is the leading cause of injury among women aged 15 to 44, according to a un report, and 50 to 70 per cent of abusive husbands also mistreat their children.Rich countries are no exception. In the United States, close to 70 per cent of assaults against women are at the hands of relatives or people close to the victim.A survey conducted by IDB researchers listed Brazil as one of the worst countries in the region in terms of domestic abuse. It also reported that 40 per cent of women in Santiago, Chileand 52 per cent in Managua, Nicaragua were physically maltreated by their husbands or partners in 1996.Domestic violence goes beyond social class, occurring among the rich as well as the poor, said Ellen Cristina Geraldes, one of the authors of the MNDH study in Brazil.Children up to age 11 are more likely to die as the result of domestic violence than violence in the streets, with the exception of traffic accidents, she said. The home, which is supposed to be ``a place of protection and affection, is also a source of risk,'' she remarked.But the situation is inverted for teenagers. Children over 12 face more danger in the streets, she added, although she explained that many adolescents who live in the streets have run away from abusive homes, and can thus be counted as indirect victims of domestic abuse.Murder is already the top cause of death among ten to 14-year-olds in Sao Paulo, according to city government figures. Of the 359 youngsters in that age group who died last year, 17.3 per centwere victims of homicide, higher than the 17 per cent who were victims of traffic accidents.Geraldes said teachers, doctors and other professionals working with children and adolescents must be encouraged to report signs of abuse to authorities.The offices of SOS Childhood set up in Brazil's largest cities generally receive anonymous tips, most of which apparently come from neighbours.Statistics on domestic violence are inevitably unreliable and generally underestimate the phenomenon. Women's divisions of police precincts, a successful initiative that has spread in Brazil over the past ten years, logged 220,000 complaints last year. But 30 per cent of the women later returned to retract their complaints.One hurdle hindering victims from seeking assistance and redress is that in many cases they are economically dependent on their aggressors. A parliamentary inquiry concluded that 88.8 per cent of women assaulted in their homes were homemakers with no independent source of income.In the case ofchildren, the possibility of reacting is even more difficult. The alternatives are to run away and face possible violence in the streets or put up with the abuse meted out by those who are supposed to protect them.
