Seminar

Violence against Women, Gender and Social Protection

Rita Freitas (CES/Universidade Federal Fluminense)

November 13, 2013, 17h00

Room T2, CES-Coimbra

Abstract
This presentation is the result of research work developed during the year 2013 in Portugal. It has as main objective to present a comparative study of legislation and actions of social protection towards women victims of violence in Brazil and Portugal. As such, I start with the analysis of current plans for Combating Violence against Women and the network for the protection and support to women, existing in both countries. The theme of violence against women is now recognized worldwide as a public health issue. However, although much has already been developed - especially in terms of legislation - there is still a long way to go so that we can guarantee a life free of violence for women. It is my strong belief that it is crucial to focus on policymakers in order to construct effective policies and strategies to support women victims of violence. Therefore, an important aim of this study is the auscultation of policymakers in Portugal. I also intend to bring forward the analysis of these narratives in order to explore the construction of public policies for these segments of population.


Bio
Rita Freitas
is Professor of Social Work at the Federal Fluminense University. In this institution, as well as lecturing undergraduate and graduate classes, she is also coordinator of Historical Research on Social Protection Research Group/ Center for Document Reference (NPHPS / CRD) and Vice- Coordinator of Postgraduate Studies in Social Policy Programme. She holds a Master and Doctoral Degree in Social Work at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Currently she is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, under the supervision of Ana Cristina Santos. Rita conducts studies on gender, families, children and youth, health, citizenship, violence, social actors and policies. Her role in the women´s movements, as well as her research (and guidelines) in the field of gender violence, contributed to the research design that will be presented.


Note: Within the  Democracy, Citizenship and Law Research Group (DECIDe)