“Corrective rape, slaps, and stabbings – they want to keep us silent, but not even death can silence us. Women alive!” With these words, social worker Elisandra “Lis” Martins ended her speech at the battle of rhymes in downtown Brasília, at the Levante Mulheres Vivas (“Women Alive Uprising”), held in several state capitals across Brazil on Sunday (Dec. 7).
Under heavy rain, thousands of people joined the protest in the Federal District to denounce violence against women, femicide, and the government’s failure to protect and prevent gender-based violence.
The protest was called by dozens of women’s organizations after a series of high-profile cases of femicide shocked Brazil in recent days. In Brasília, activists gave speeches and cultural performances took place at the TV Tower in the city center.
Thirty-year-old rapper Elisandra “Lis” Martins is a member of the Batalha das Gurias (“Gals’ Battle”) collective, of the Frente Nacional de Mulheres no Hip-Hop (“National Front of Women in Hip-Hop”), and attended the event to denounce gender violence in the hope of provoking a reaction from the government.
“It’s violence based on gender, violence based on race / We keep trying to live, but we’re out of space / In the job market we’re left in the underworld / And to live we’re given the underworld / First rejection, then depression / We try to breathe – decompression” she rhymed. Lis hails from Itapoã, a district in Brasília some 10 km from Brazil’s government headquarters.
The rally was also joined by federal officials – including six female ministers and federal representatives, First Lady Janja Lula da Silva, and various popular leaders.
On Sunday, women’s protests were also held in other capitals – such as Rio de Janeiro, where hundreds gathered at Copacabana Beach, and São Paulo, where the crowd convened on Paulista Avenue.
State violence
Carla Michelli and Dr. Vanessa Hacon at the rally in Brasília against gender-based violence – Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil
In the federal capital, protesters repeatedly condemned the state and the inability of institutions to protect women victims of violence and to prevent these crimes.
Vanessa Hacon, who holds a PhD in Social Sciences, is an activist with the Mães na Luta (“Mothers in Struggle”) collective, which offers counseling to women victims of violence. She claims that the justice system is negligent in its treatment of women and often blames the victims themselves.
“Women leave home to escape domestic violence and end up in the justice system, where procedural violence is preposterous, with judges doing close to nothing,” Dr. Hacon said.
“There’s a sexist ideology in the courts that invalidates complaints through vulgar gender stereotypes – ‘This woman is resentful,’ ‘She can’t get over her former partner,’ ‘She’s vindictive.’ Women’s complaints need to be taken seriously, rather than dismissed on vague grounds,” she went on to argue.
Patriarchy
Activist Leonor Costa says education is key to stopping violence against women. – Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil
Chanting slogans such as “Feminism is revolution” and “Women alive,” the protesters highlighted that the patriarchal way in which society has been structured over the centuries contributes to an “epidemic” of femicides in Brazil.
“Patriarchy is when society is based on the logic that men – the male gender – have power, and that the power is centralized in them, that it starts with them,” said Leonor Costa, an activist with Movimento Negro Unificado (“Unified Black Movement”).
She told Agência Brasil that the “absurd” cases of femicide in recent days have sparked outrage among women nationwide.
“I hope these demonstrations can raise awareness in society, showing the danger that women face in their daily lives and, more than that, raise awareness in the government. We must have public policies put in place to curb this level of violence,” she declared.
In her view, education is key to changing this culture. “We need education policies that can raise awareness so that society can understand that this is a national problem – not merely a problem I face as a woman,” she added.
The role of men and the public budget
The demonstration denounced all forms of violence against women. – Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil
Most of the protesters were women, but a large number of men also took part in the demonstration, and the leaders in attendance stressed their role in the fight against gender-based violence, as writer, filmmaker, and retired teacher Renata Parreira explained.
Author Renata Parreira argues that public budget should be allocated to fighting gender-based violence. – Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil
“We need to call on men to discuss and reflect on their toxic masculinity. We need to bring them on board as allies in this fight so we can change the way society is structured,” she said.
In the opinion of Parreira, who is a member of Levante Feminista contra o Feminicídio, Lesbocídio, e Transfeminicídio (“Feminist Uprising Against the Killing of Women, Lesbians, and Trans Women”), the public budget needs to be increased if gender-based violence is to be combated.
“Without a public budget, without qualified staff, without economic and social research indicators, there is no way to develop effective public policies for the prevention of violence against women. We need to transform reality through education because culture is not fixed, it is dynamic and can be changed,” she added.
An economic issue
The economic situation faced by women was another factor mentioned as contributing to gender-based violence.
Entrepreneur Aline Karina Dias, 36, believes that financial independence is the key to emancipating a large number of women from cycles of violence and exclusion.
“We see entrepreneurship and financial independence as tools for women’s emancipation and survival. Many women who are killed suffer this kind of violence because of social issues, such as lack of housing and employment,” she said.
Aline Karina runs Sebas Turística, a community-based Afro-tourism project that promotes tourism in São Sebastião, another district in Brasília, about 17 km from the country’s chief government buildings.
Behind the demonstration
The demonstration denounced all forms of violence against women. – Marcelo Camargo / Agência Brasil
The countrywide mobilization was called after a wave of recent femicides shook Brazil.
In late November, Tainara Souza Santos had her legs mutilated after being run over and dragged for about a kilometer while still trapped under the vehicle. The driver, Douglas Alves da Silva, was arrested and charged with the crime.
That same week, two employees of a federal center for technological education in Rio de Janeiro were shot dead by an employee of the institution, who then killed himself.
On Friday (5), the charred body of Army Corporal Maria de Lourdes Freire Matos, 25, was found in Brasília. The crime is being investigated as femicide after 21-year-old soldier Kelvin Barros da Silva confessed to the murder.
According to Brazil’s National Map of Gender Violence, approximately 3.7 million Brazilian women experienced one or more episodes of domestic violence in the last 12 months.
In 2024, 1,459 women were victims of femicide in Brazil. On average, around four women were murdered every day in 2024 because of their gender. In 2025, Brazil has recorded over 1,180 femicides.
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