Violence against women is not only expressed in the domestic sphere or in interpersonal relationships. It also manifests itself, increasingly evidently, in the political field, as an instrument of exclusion, intimidation, and silencing. Gender-based political violence has become one of the main barriers to women’s participation in public life in Brazil and Latin America, compromising the quality of democracy and the very functioning of the rule of law.
Although women are the majority of the population in Latin America, they occupy fewer and fewer spaces of political power and decision-making. This contradiction reveals that female exclusion does not stem from a lack of interest or ability, but from political, partisan, and institutional structures that continue to operate according to profoundly unequal logics.
In Brazil, recent episodes of political violence against Black women, community leaders, and elected representatives demonstrate how gender, race, and power are intertwined. The assassination of Marielle Franco remains an extreme symbol of this violence and an unavoidable landmark in the debate about the risks faced by women who dare to occupy public space and compete for power in contexts of strong inequality.
Political violence is also expressed through processes of institutional destabilization. The coup that unjustly removed President Dilma Rousseff from office, democratically won, was marked by misogynistic speeches, public humiliations, and symbolic attacks that went beyond political debate and affected her status as a woman holding the Presidency of the Republic. This episode left deep scars on Brazilian democracy and had a deterrent effect on the presence of women in leadership positions.
In scenarios of high political polarization and institutional erosion, gender-based political violence is not limited to women holding elected office. It also extends to those who, due to their symbolic or familial proximity to political leaders, become targets of attacks, stigmatization, and public exposure. These women are frequently transformed into instruments of political pressure, with their bodies, trajectories, and identities used as territories of dispute and punishment. This is a perverse form of indirect political violence that reinforces patriarchal patterns, seeks to produce fear, and sends a disciplinary message to all women who move—or could move—through the space of power.
At the regional level, the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as president of Mexico represents a historical milestone. The country currently has an exceptional configuration in Latin America, with women occupying central positions of power, including the Presidency of the Republic, the leadership of the main political party, and state and municipal governments of great relevance. Even so, this experience remains an exception in a continent where gender-based political violence continues to be used as a tool to limit, weaken, or expel women from decision-making spaces.
The persistence of this phenomenon highlights the inadequacy of current legal frameworks. In Brazil, despite important normative advances, legislation still does not explicitly recognize the concept of political femicide, nor does it adequately encompass the multiple forms of violence—symbolic, digital, institutional, and physical—that affect women who compete for and exercise power. This debate needs to be addressed with courage and urgency, not only nationally, but as part of a Latin American agenda.
Political violence against women undermines democracy by silencing voices and reducing the diversity of perspectives in public debate. To confront it, it is necessary to build legal and institutional instruments that effectively protect women’s participation and ensure that all women can occupy decision-making spaces without fear or intimidation.
The Brazilian Ministry of Women, strengthened under the leadership of Márcia Lopes, can play a central role in stimulating regional dialogue, promoting the exchange of experiences, and articulating a common agenda to combat gender-based political violence in Latin America. This articulation gains even more meaning at a time when Brazil is reinforcing, domestically, the fight against multiple forms of violence, recognizing that democracy, social justice, and gender equality are inseparable.
Reflection on gender-based political violence cannot be restricted to the regional level. It is also urgent that the international community promote greater female representation in global decision-making spaces. The election of a woman to the UN Secretary-General position would be a symbolic and political milestone, signaling that female leaders can occupy the highest positions of power and influence, strengthening agendas for equality, protection of human rights, and combating violence against women.
Addressing political violence against women is not a sectoral or identity-based issue. It is a democratic imperative. As long as women are attacked, delegitimized, or sidelined for exercising political leadership, no democracy will be fully protected. The challenge facing Latin America is to transform exceptions into the rule and ensure that politics ceases to be a hostile territory for women.
Vanda Pignato
Public Policy and Gender Consultant
Former Secretary of Social Inclusion of El Salvador
