‘Stalking’ law completes 1 year and begins to reflect in courts

First came the uncomfortable questions about his personal life. Then visits to the same shop he used to frequent. Later, the same car insisted on slowly passing in front of his house. Finally, the bouquets of flowers arrived, accompanied by tickets.

It was the trigger for Maria (the name was changed) to seek the Justice of Espírito Santo to ask that her co-worker be forced to keep her distance. But the protective measures did not prevent another unwanted encounter, which led the “stalker” to have his preventive detention decreed last Wednesday (30).

The crime printed in the sentence is that of “persecuting someone, repeatedly and by any means, threatening their physical or psychological integrity, restricting their ability to move around or, in any way, invading or disturbing their sphere of freedom or privacy” .

The article was included in the Brazilian Penal Code a year ago and is now beginning to be reflected in the country’s courts. There are currently at least 1,276 lawsuits of this type, considering only nine Courts of Justice that provided data to the sheet in the last three days.

The crime, called “persecution” and popularized by the English expression “stalking”, was sanctioned on March 31, 2021 by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). It provides for a penalty of up to two years in prison, with the possibility of an increase if the victim is a child, adolescent, elderly person or woman.

In practice, punishment is reversed in milder measures and is not enough to prevent abuse, but it gives a name to a behavior and even a feeling that was previously in limbo.

“Clients came to me and said: what is happening? What am I being a victim of? Today, when I say that it is a crime, it gives strength, a moral. author of the book “Stalking” (2017).

The director of the NGO Safernet, which receives reports of virtual crimes, agrees: “Before, it was just an ex causing problems. Now victims and people in general will understand that this is violence and can be reported”, says Juliana Cunha .

Women are the most frequent victims —although they are not the only ones—, both for the end of a relationship and for the rejection of its beginning. The isolation caused by the pandemic has also made the virtual form of crime much worse, according to experts.

It is common for harassment to start with messages, social networks, email and expand, creating a siege around the victim. In the case of a 67-year-old man who was preventively arrested about a month ago in Fortaleza, he even included messages in the comments field of transfers by Pix.

The harassment can also include the search for people close to the victim’s socializing and surprise appearances at the place of residence, work or study. Whether in the physical or digital environment, the psychological consequences are the same, such as anxiety, fear, guilt and isolation.

“I was very scared when I started studying and I saw the damage caused, and we didn’t talk much about it. The intention is to undermine the victim. In the most blatant cases, they change jobs, house, name, city, country. your life”, warns Gerbovic.

In a case that took place in Jaú do Tocantins (TO), for example, the woman even attempted suicide and changed state after threats from her ex-husband, with whom she lived a troubled relationship for 14 years. He was convicted last month and is expected to serve his sentence in an open regime.

As with other crimes predominantly committed against women, underreporting of stalking is common. “People think that nothing will come of it, that they will have to expose themselves again. It is also difficult to measure the effects of the law because we do not have integrated data on notifications or punishments”, recalls Cunha, from Safernet.

The numbers collected by the report vary greatly from state to state, which may indicate a difference in the way of filtering the data.

According to the survey, the TJs that most filed lawsuits for persecution were those of Santa Catarina (325), Rio de Janeiro (304), Rio Grande do Sul (282) and Bahia (282). On the other hand, São Paulo only registered 15 shares, and Minas Gerais, 2.

“One year is still very little. If I file a police report today, the aggressor will only be heard in three months”, ponders criminal lawyer Danyelle Galvão, who handles cases of this type in São Paulo.

Before being recognized as a crime, the practice was usually framed as a threat (with imprisonment from one to six months) or a lesser criminal misdemeanor, for disturbing the victim’s tranquility (with detention of 15 days to two months), now revoked.

Galvão explains that the Maria da Penha Law also fits in some situations, however restricted to family relationships. It is still possible to obtain compensation in the civil sphere, for having left your job or paid for therapy, for example.

But there has to be a parallel investment in prevention, they argue. “Saying that legislation will prevent crimes is contrary to everything I’ve studied. It won’t stop happening. The only effect is to enable it to be investigated and punished”, says the criminalist.

Luciana Gerbovic highlights the importance of forming a support network right at the beginning of the chase, to make it stop quickly. She exemplifies with the case of a client followed by a neighbor, who only told her son what she was going through when she saw the guy banging on the door. The tip was to warn the doorman, the manager, to call an assembly in the building.

Juliana Cunha emphasizes the need to address gender relations and violence, especially in schools. “The more women know, the better they identify and are able to prevent it from developing into something more serious,” she says.

collaborated Victoria Damascene



What to do if you are a victim of “stalking”?

1. Form a support network: report the situation to friends, family and others who can help you
2. Do not interact with the abuser: this can reinforce his/her behavior
3. Do not disclose personal data: avoid publishing phone, address and place of work or study
4. Block contact: prevent him from being able to contact you and report you to social media
5. Save evidence: take “prints” or record all possible evidence of the chase
6. Register the event: the ideal is to look for a police station specializing in cyber crimes or women, if that is the case
7. Seek professional help: if you find it necessary, look for a lawyer, psychologist or specialized services such as:

• Dial 180 (Women’s Service Center)

• Safernet NGO website (canaldeajuda.org.br)

• House of the Brazilian Woman (from the City Hall of São Paulo)

_{Sources: NGO Safernet and lawyer Luciana Gerbovic, author of the book “Stalking” (2017})