Young Girls from a Small Town in Southern Brazil Have Intimate Photos Shared and Are Harassed

05/15/2015 - 08h44

Thirteen-year-old Bruna did not believe it when a lingerie photo she had sent to a boy circulated on WhatsApp group named "Ousadia e Putaria" (Daring and Bitching), which brings together dozens of boys from her city.

"Now everybody laughs at me", said the girl, who cut her wrists and was admitted in the hospital.

Bruna was not the only one to have intimate photos spread. Luisa, 13, was offended in the corridors of the school. Carla, 17, was harassed in the neighbourhood and went to the police.

But surprise: the apprentice who worked at the police station was part of the group, and the report ended up on WhatsApp.

The names are fictitious, but the stories, all real.

The girls are residents of Encantado, a small town in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in the southern region of Brazil, that has approximately 20 thousand inhabitants. They had intimate photos and videos spread through the mobile application last month.

However, according to many people in town, they were not the victims. They were paying the price for not appreciating themselves, wrote on Facebook the owner of the city's newspaper.

A group of women decided to take their side and demanded from the public prosecution, the Journalists' Union and the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul an investigation on the work of the authorities in the case.

"The comments [on social networks] were like knives in my heart", said Lívia's mother, 24, who also had her images shared on WhatsApp.

Last Saturday (9), the group of women organized a March through the city and an open class. Livia's grandparents, aged 80, held a banner with the words "my body, my rules."

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

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