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Brazil3.1 Domestic ViolenceThe Brazilian Constitution, in its article 226 §8, ensures State assistanceto the family and determines that mechanisms to suppress violence infamily relationships shall be created. In spite of the protection created bythe law and the engagement of the State responsibility in theConstitutional text, the rates of crimes against women have not beenreduced. Most of the cases concerning harmful physical assault againstwomen occur in the domestic environment. 26The figures of São Paulo city in 1992 registered cases of domestic violenceagainst women portray this reality: 81,5% of the registered cases ofdomestic violence correspond to harmful physical assault, 4,47% arecases of rape or attempted rape, 7,77% are cases of threats and 1,53% tosexual harassment. 27 A survey in Rio de Janeiro in 1999 regarding violencein the domestic sphere shows women have been 4 times moreaggressed than men in cases of minor physical assault and 2 times moreaggressed in cases of major physical assault.In April 2001, the Inter American Commission for Human for the firsttime ruled on a case of domestic violence against women. In the case ofMaria da Penha Maia Fernandes, who was left paraplegic as a consequenceof continuous beating by her husband, the Commission recommendedthe prosecution of the perpetrator and the compensation of thevictim. The recommendations to the government requested the “end [of]the condoning by the State of domestic violence.” 28In fact, besides the few articles applicable to domestic violence in theBrazilian Constitution and the Penal Code and related laws, there is nospecific legislation dealing with domestic violence. 29 Legislation considersdomestic violence as a minor crime (law 9.099/95) and the currentjudicial practices tend to punish perpetrators of violence against womenvery lightly. OMCT recognizes a first step has been made through approvinglegislation that speeds up the possibility of obtaining a restrainingorder. 30The overflow of violence cases in Brazilian courts has led to the creationof Special Courts in order to speed up procedures when the tried casescall for light punishment sentences not exceeding one year. Almost alldomestic violence cases are run through these Special Courts, where75