The preventive detention of soccer player Daniel Alves, accused of raping a 23-year-old girl inside the Sutton nightclub, in Barcelona, Spain, surprised entities linked to the fight against sexual violence due to the agility with which it was conducted. The athlete denies the crime.
Unlike the European country, in Brazil, according to specialists, denouncing an episode of sexual abuse, in most cases, is a long and exhausting process. It is not uncommon for the victim to give up or even be sued by the abuser for defamation and moral damages.
In a note, Me Too Brasil, an organization that welcomes victims of sexual violence, said it regretted the occurrence of yet another gender violence committed by Brazilian players abroad. The organization also mentions that the case shows the importance of agility in denouncing, collecting evidence and testimonies, in addition to the pre-trial detention of those accused of sexual harassment and violence.
“This does not usually happen in the Brazilian penal system, where the voices of victims are often not considered and are even silenced”, warns the organization.
Spain is considered a reference in the fight against sexual violence and for gender equality.
In Barcelona, where the case occurred, a security protocol was created to control sexual violence in leisure environments. The document, developed in 2018 and called “No Callem”, details how private spaces should act to prevent and act in the event of aggression within establishments.
The list of procedures was created after the release of a survey, in 2016, which showed that leisure establishments are among the three most recurrent scenarios for registering cases of sexual violence.
Spanish newspapers claim that the “No Callem” protocol was applied in the episode involving the player. At the time, the police received the notice of the occurrence, went to the ballad and heard the victim, who was taken to the emergency medical service.
The document describes different possible scenarios and how to conduct them.
In the case of sexual assault, the protocol determines that the victim must be welcomed as soon as possible, and professionals at the site must verify that the victim is not in any kind of immediate danger.
The victim must be taken to an isolated space. If she is unable to understand the situation, the person providing the care may suggest that she have a companion.
Then, the victim must be asked if he would like medical care and informed that access to the health service does not necessarily imply a formal complaint.
If the person chooses not to report it, he or she should be instructed to seek a medical health service for psychological and emergency care.
The document also says that the victim who decides to formalize the complaint must be accompanied. Regarding the abuser, the protocol defines that the establishment can keep him in custody until the arrival of the police, in case he is caught in the act or about to commit the crime.
If the suspect is not found at the time, the victim can describe him so that professionals at the establishment can search. In addition, at various times, the document reinforces that the main thing in cases of aggression is to welcome the victim – and not to reprimand the crime.
The document is not limited to describing how to act in the case of episodes of sexual aggression, but also lists preventive measures. Among them are the strengthening of surveillance in darker places. It also discourages measures that differentiate the entry of men and women, such as cheaper or free admission.
The document stipulates that there should be no discrimination in terms of clothing or a ban on entry based on appearance. In addition, promotional posters for places where they present women only as objects of sexual desire or images that show them in derogatory positions, subordination or incitement to violence are rejected.
In addition to the protocol, in August last year, the Sexual Freedom Law was approved, known as the law “solo sí es sí” (only yes is yes), which eliminates distinctions between abuse and sexual aggression and starts to consider all sexual intention without consent with another person as an assault.
The change in nomenclature was accompanied by greater detailing of possible penalties. The measure was inspired by the case known as La Manada, when five men raped an 18-year-old girl at the San Fermin festival in Pamplona in 2016, and the scenes were recorded. They were initially convicted of sexual abuse after Justice understood that there was no violence.
Despite being considered a victory for the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the law was soon criticized as it opened the way for a flood of sentence review in the European country. That’s because, after a few months in effect, men convicted of rape had reduced sentences and some were even released.
Regarding the criticism, the Minister of Equality of Spain, Irene Montero, said that the problem is caused by judges who break the law motivated by sexist concepts. She argued that it is necessary to improve the training of judges.
Lawyer at the head of Me Too Brasil, Mariana Garanzolli says that, despite criticism of the recent law, Spain has advanced in recent years as a reference in the fight against sexual violence. In Brazil, she says, unlike domestic violence, sexual violence has not seen as many advances.
“We have been arguing more and more that the absence of consent is violence in itself. However, the understanding is based on jurisprudence in Brazil. In Spain, this is more advanced”, says Ganzarolli
According to the lawyer, the woman may not say no because she was intimidated by the presence, look or size of the abuser. “Sometimes, he cornered her. The person can freeze, stand still. The absence of ‘no’ is not synonymous with consent. To have an aggression, you don’t need to use violence or force”, she says.
The testimony of the woman who accuses Daniel Alves
What happened at the nightclub, according to the 23-year-old told the court:
Before 2am – The victim, her cousin and a friend arrive at the Sutton Barcelona nightclub.
2h – Daniel Alves arrives with a friend and goes up to a VIP area.
Between 2 am and 3 am – The girls meet Mexican guys, who invite them upstairs to their VIP area. They accept.
Around 4 o’clock – A waiter approaches the women and says that a customer invites them to their area. At first, they reject the invitation, but the customer insists and the waiter says he is “a friend”.
- They go there, but they don’t recognize the football player. Then the Mexican boys say who it is. Daniel Alves tells them that he plays petanque, a sport very similar to boules, at the club L’Hospitalet.
- Alves and his friend offer the girls glasses of cava (Spanish sparkling wine). “Immediately he started flirting with the three of us, sticking to us a lot and touching us.”
- The player stands behind the victim, who describes the situation like this: “It was disgusting me. From behind, he took my hand, put it on his penis, and I took it off.”
4:22 am – The player points to a door and orders it to follow and enter. She says she thought it was another VIP area, but it turned out to be a bathroom.
- Inside, Alves sits on the toilet and pulls her on top of him. He asks her to say she’s “your little bitch” from him.
- Unsuccessfully, he throws her to the ground and tries to force her to perform oral sex. She resists and gets slapped.
- Then the player lifts her up, turns the victim onto her back and penetrates her “violently until she ejaculates”. “I resisted, but he was much stronger than me.”
- Alves gets dressed and says, “I’m going out first.” According to the nightclub cameras, they spend 16 minutes in the bathroom.
Just before 5am – Ten minutes after exiting the bathroom, the player leaves the club. At that moment, the victim starts crying and tells her friend and cousin what happened. They look for a local security guard, who calls the police.
- Daniel is not found.
- The victim is treated at the Hospital Clínic.
- Two days later, she goes to the police station to file a complaint.
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