Sexual Harassment Persists at Carnival Despite Social Media Campaigns

02/11/2016 - 10h47

For the first time, carnival in Brazil has been characterized by popular campaigns on social networks demanding respect for women, clarifying the difference between flirtation and harassment, and even providing men with step-by-step instructions on how "not to be a sleaze".

Reports of sexual harassment have already emerged from Rio, São Paulo and Salvador, where 461 cases of violence against women were registered by the municipal authorities.

	Apito contra o Assédio
	For the first time, carnival in Brazil has been characterized by popular campaigns demanding respect for women.

On Saturday afternoon, S.F., 16, was resting on a bench with a friend during a parade in Ipanema, Rio, when they were approached by two men.

"They started to touch us, asking "What are the two of you doing sitting here if you don't want to do anything?" said the student.

Other men appeared, who appeared to be part of the same group. "One of them, who was very tall and strong, gave me a hard slap on my neck and I fell down. There's not much you can do about it, because we report it but nothing ever happens. Everyone thinks it's normal, because at carnival anything goes. I've always loved carnival, but this year I just felt very sad," she said.

A few weeks before the event, the magazine AzMina launched the campaign #CarnavalSemAssédio (#CarnivalWithoutHarassment), in partnership with the Rio-based feminist carnival group Mulheres Rodadas and others. The aim was to teach men how to behave respectfully towards women in the parades.

The group launched a pamphlet describing various types of harassment, such as pulling women's hair and grabbing their arms in order to hurt them.

Nana Queiroz, 30, executive-director of AzMina, said that this is the first carnival in which the issue of harassment has been confronted so explicitly by society.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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