President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced on Monday (Dec. 8) that he intends to convene a meeting with representatives of the branches of government and social sectors to promote what he called an “educational task force” to combat violence against women. Amid a wave of femicide cases that have shocked the country, thousands of people in several cities took to the streets this weekend to denounce violence and demand freedom, respect, and safety for Brazilian women.

“It is important to involve the National Congress - the Senate and the House of Representatives - the Supreme Court, the Superior Court of Justice, the state courts of justice, trade unionists, evangelicals; we need everyone to join forces in an educational task force,” said Lula in a speech during the 14th National Social Assistance Conference, which is taking place in Brasília.

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The president did not specify a date but said he would try to hold the meeting by the end of the year.

“We must be outraged by violence toward women,” said the president, who again mentioned recent cases, such as the episode in São Paulo involving Douglas Alves da Silva, 26, who ran over and dragged Tainara Souza Santos, 31. The crime occurred on November 29. She had her legs amputated after being dragged under the vehicle for about 1 kilometer and remains hospitalized.

Lula also cited the case of a 39-year-old man arrested in flagrante delicto in Recife, also in late November, accused of setting a fire that killed his pregnant wife and the couple’s four children. The president once again called for male involvement in the fight.

“The plain and simple truth is that violence only has one side. It is not women who have to change their behavior, it is men,” he said.

Lula emphasized that he will make the fight against violence toward women his political struggle from now on. “Here in Brazil, we are going to have to create a movement. It is primarily an educational problem; we are going to have to learn in school and educate our children,” he added.

For the past week, Lula has been addressing the issue of gender violence at the official events he attends.

Violence

According to the National Map of Gender Violence, approximately 3.7 million Brazilian women have experienced one or more episodes of domestic violence in the last 12 months.

In 2024, 1,459 women were victims of femicide. On average, about four women were murdered every day in 2024 because of their gender, whether in contexts of domestic or family violence or due to contempt and discrimination related to their female status.

This year, Brazil has already recorded more than 1,180 femicides and nearly 3,000 daily calls to Ligue 180, Brazil’s national hotline for reporting violence against women, according to the Ministry of Women.

Data from the São Paulo State Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) show that from January to October 2025, 53 cases of femicide were recorded in the city of São Paulo. This is the highest annual figure since 2018, even without including the months of November and December.

Throughout the state of São Paulo, 207 femicides were recorded from January to October of this year. In the same period last year, there were 191. This represents an increase of 8 percent when considering the first ten months of the year.

“The crime of femicide was defined in federal law in March 2015. From then on, cases began to be counted separately from other types of homicide. The law classifies a murder as femicide when it involves domestic or family violence, or contempt or discrimination against the victim’s status as a woman. Penalties for the crime range from twelve to thirty years in prison.”

According to data from the SSP-SP, in 2025, the capital surpassed the number of cases recorded in all previous years, even without counting November and December.

Year	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025 (until October)
Cases	29	44	40	33	41	38	51	53

Combat

Through a statement, the SSP-SP said that combating violence against women is a priority for the state government, and that the secretariat maintains several initiatives focused on the issue, including the so-called Lilac Booth, which has already provided approximately 14,000 services to women victims of violence throughout the state of São Paulo.

The project, initially implemented in the capital, was expanded to Greater São Paulo and to the interior of the state, with units in the regions of Campinas, São José dos Campos, Bauru, São José do Rio Preto, Sorocaba, Presidente Prudente, and Piracicaba.

“Created for the first time within the scope of the Military Police Operations Center (Copom), the Lilac Booth offers humanized assistance provided by female police officers trained to support and guide victims of domestic violence. The officers supply information on protective measures, reporting channels, and support services, and can also dispatch patrol cars when necessary,” she explained.

According to the SSP-SP, there are 142 territorial Women’s Defense Police Stations (DDMs) in the state, and the number of twenty-four-hour DDM rooms has expanded by 174.1 percent, reaching 170 spaces in police stations, where victims can be assisted by videoconference by a female officer.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva spoke on Tuesday (Dec. 2) about recent femicide cases that shocked Brazil, urging men to take responsibility for changing the culture of gender-based violence in society. He made the statement during an event in Ipojuca, in the metropolitan region of Recife, which marked the launch of works to expand the operational capacity of the Abreu e Lima Refinery (Rnest).

“I wanted to address us men. What goes on in the mind of this animal, considered the most intelligent species on Earth, to cause so much violence? I woke up on Sunday (Nov. 30) and during breakfast, Janja (the first lady) started crying. At night, while watching Fantástico (on TV Globo), she cried again. Yesterday (Monday), she cried once more,” said the president.

Lula said that the first lady asked him to take a “tougher stance” against violence by men toward women. He cited some of the most tragic incidents of violence recorded in recent days.

“This week, a man grabbed two pistols and fired them at his wife. Another killed his pregnant wife, who had three children, and set their house on fire. Yet another ran over his wife and dragged her for a kilometer. She will survive, but with both legs amputated. The question I ask is: does the Brazilian Penal Code have a penalty capable of bringing justice to an irrational animal like that?” he questioned.

Two of the cases cited by Lula occurred in the city of São Paulo. In one, a man fled after firing at least six times with two weapons at his ex-partner in a pastry shop where she worked, in the northern zone of the city, on Monday morning (Dec. 1). He did not accept the end of the relationship. The other case, also an attempted femicide, was committed by Douglas Alves da Silva, 26, who ran over and dragged Tainara Souza Santos, 31, on Saturday morning (Nov. 29), also in the northern zone of São Paulo. She had both legs amputated after being dragged under the vehicle for about a kilometer and remains hospitalized.

In Recife, a 39-year-old man was arrested on the spot on Saturday, suspected of starting a fire that killed his pregnant wife and the couple’s four children.

“Each of us men needs to be a teacher to one another. Each of us has to educate our children, and each of us has to educate our partners. If you’re not happy with your partner, please be a grown man - don’t hit her, just separate from her. If she doesn’t like you, she isn’t obligated to stay with you; let her live her life. Don’t imprison that person, don’t be cruel, don’t be ignorant. Because when you think about it, there’s no punishment for a man like that - even death is too mild. There needs to be a national movement of men against the animals who beat, abuse, and mistreat women,” Lula continued.

Femicide is the homicide of a woman committed because of her gender, characterized by domestic or family violence, contempt, or discrimination against the female condition. It is considered the most extreme expression of gender violence and often occurs as the culmination of a history of aggression, motivated by hatred, dehumanization, or a sense of ownership over the victim. In Brazil, it is classified as a heinous crime and, when treated as an aggravating circumstance in homicide, carries a prison sentence of twelve to thirty years.

Since January, 207 women have been killed in the state of São Paulo alone as victims of femicide. In October, there were 22 victims of this type of crime and another 5,838 women who suffered intentional bodily harm.

Male awareness

Also in his speech, the president recalled being raised by his mother, along with five siblings, and taught never to act violently toward women. He called on men to demonstrate character, dignity, and respect, and renewed his appeal for a collective effort by men to confront gender violence.

“From now on, I am part of a movement of men who will begin raising awareness in this country that men were not born to beat women, to rape children, or to commit violence. Raise your hand if you are with me in this fight. We are going to have a strong campaign,” he emphasized.

Refinery

Considered Petrobras’ most modern refinery, Rnest will receive approximately BRL 12 billion in investments to complete processing unit 2 and carry out additional maintenance on processing unit 1, which is expected to add 130,000 barrels per day to the plant’s processing capacity. The refinery is estimated to reach 260,000 barrels per day by the end of the project in 2029. According to the state-owned company, it will supply 17 percent of the country’s diesel demand and will also produce gasoline, LPG, and naphtha.