Violência, negligência e feminicídio: uma análise documental dos registros digitais de ocorrência do estado de São Paulo durante a pandemia de Covid-19

Abstract

An important advancement in addressing violence against women in Brazil was the classification of femicide as a specific crime in 2015 within the Brazilian Penal Code. However, studies have highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic, characterized as a catastrophic event, increased women's exposure to domestic violence and femicide. Based on these considerations, the objective of this research was defined as analyzing, through a documentary investigation, the cases of femicides that occurred during the pandemic in the state of São Paulo, as well as the history of prior incident reports before the murders. Data collection was carried out at a Regional Civil Police Station located in the interior of the state of São Paulo. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, the following variables were analyzed: (i) sociodemographic characteristics of the victims and perpetrators of violence; (ii) the number of complaints filed by the victims before their murders; (iii) the nature of the crime; (iv) whether urgent protective measures were granted prior to the femicide. The dissertation was structured around three articles with complementary objectives. Article 1 revealed that there were 563 femicides during the pandemic in the state of São Paulo. The São Paulo Metropolitan Region had the highest number of occurrences. Most femicide victims were white, adult women, married or in stable unions. The absence of information regarding the victims' educational level and professions was noted in several documents. Article 2, which aimed to analyze and describe the sociodemographic profile of femicide perpetrators in São Paulo during the pandemic and the characteristics of the incidents, revealed that the perpetrators were predominantly adult, white, married or in stable unions, had low educational levels, were unemployed, and had affective and/or sexual ties with the victims. In 88 cases, the perpetrator committed suicide after the femicide. The cases showed an increase in the months of March, April, and December during the analyzed years, with a higher incidence during nighttime and on weekends. The main instruments used to commit the femicides were household objects. Subsequently, Article 3 examined and described the number of domestic violence reports filed by women before becoming victims of femicide and the types of violence reported. Among the main findings, it was noted that 27.89% of the victims had filed complaints prior to the femicide, with some women registering multiple reports, and threats being the most common complaint. The findings of this investigation are essential for enabling the creation of preventive public policies and for ensuring better structuring of services that assist women. It is hoped that the discussions undertaken will provide effective contributions to the protection of women who are victims of domestic violence and vulnerable to femicide.