Project in Duque de Caxias has been empowering victims of domestic violence for two decades

Since August 2006, the Maria da Penha Law has been instituted to curb physical, patrimonial, sexual, and moral violence against women. However, even with the support of the jurisdiction and the efforts of non-governmental institutions, aggression is still present in the lives of countless Brazilian women. According to official data, in 2020 it is estimated that 250 women were victims of acts of violence per day in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

However, before the enactment of the Maria da Penha Law, other organisations were already active in the fight against domestic and family violence. This is the case of the Centro de Defesa  da Vida – Life Defense Center -F (CDVida), which has been working tirelessly since August 1998 through various actions to combat aggression against women, such as courses, solidarity economy workshops, and psychosocial care. The project is in a building attached to the Cathedral of Santo Antônio, in Duque de Caxias, Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro.

Want to know more? Read the interview given by Raquel Nasciso, social worker, and project coordinator.

Neuza Nascimento: How was CDVida created?

Raquel: The project was created by two religious social workers who worked in the Diocese of Duque de Caxias and, for a long time, heard countless stories from those who attended the Pastorals and the Clube de Mães who suffered from violence. At the time, there was no assistance in the Baixada Fluminense specializing in assistance to victims of violence and, therefore, these women did not know who or where to turn. With that in mind, and with the support of Dom Mauro Morelli, Bishop of the Diocese of Duque de Caxias at the time, they founded CDVida.

Neuza Nascimento: What is the purpose of CDVida?

Raquel: Overall, CDVida seeks to foster a culture of non-violence, contribute to the prevention, appreciation, defence and guarantee of human rights. In the economic sphere, the project seeks to generate work and income for women in situations of domestic violence, whether gender, family or social. In addition, we discuss how public policies can be geared towards addressing all types of violence against women.

Neuza Nascimento: What is the age range of the women assisted and how many are there?

Raquel: We have 119 beneficiaries among children, youth, adults and elderly women. Our audience is women in situations of violence who live in Duque de Caxias or in other nearby municipalities.

Neuza Nascimento: What are the Centre’s actions?

Raquel: We operate on five axes. The first, called Projeto Vida, takes place based on psychosocial care and the work is carried out by a multidisciplinary team. We use conversation circles and therapeutic groups to help women strengthen, support, get to know one another and be inspired.

The second axis is work and income generation, which includes workshops, solidarity economy courses and entrepreneurship seminars take place.

The third axis was created specifically to offer strategies for women to generate their own income and gain autonomy, since in the Baixada Fluminense the reality of women is extremely marked by social inequality, unemployment, and poverty – and many do not leave the violent environment they live in due to economic dependence.

The fourth axis is training, where we give lectures at schools, at the Social Assistance Reference Centre (CRAS), in addition to public and private establishments.

Finally, the fifth and last axis concerns political articulation. Through it, CDVida tries to influence the proposition and monitoring of public policies. Today we are present at the Municipal Forum for Women’s Rights, at the Municipal Council of the Women’s Council and at the Assistance Network for Women in Situations of Violence. All this in Duque de Caxias.

Neuza Nascimento: In addition to the axes, do you carry out other activities?

Raquel: We try to make women aware of their rights, that domestic violence be demystified, and, for third parties, how to act if they witness this type of aggression. It is also our hope that others will spread CDVida’s philosophy by denaturalizing aggression, discussing machismo, provoking reflections, and preventing violence against women.

Neuza Nascimento: How is is working during the pandemic?

Raquel: Through remote assistance, we are keeping up with support during the pandemic. For women who do not have access to telephone and internet, we continue with face-to-face support. With the support of partnerships, we are also collecting and distributing food and hygiene materials, especially to women who are in a situation of social vulnerability. The pandemic caused most of the women we attended to lose their jobs, or to no longer be able to work.

Neuza Nascimento: Who are those involved in the consultations?

Raquel: I am the coordinator and I work with Ana Lúcia, another social worker. We also have a psychologist and an administrative technician on the team. Our team also has the voluntary support of two media managers, two Social Work interns and workshop facilitators.

Neuza Nascimento: How is the project maintained?

Raquel: CDVida is supported through fundraising, partnerships with individuals, and our raffle, the Ação Entre Amigos. Before the pandemic, we used to set up a broth stand annually with our own resources, but the action is paralysed now. We also participate in public notices for selection processes. Finally, we have two temporary partnerships, one with the Franciscan Central Mission and the other with MISEREOR – Episcopal Work of the Catholic Church, both are German entities.

Neuza Nascimento: What are the biggest challenges faced?

Raquel: There is a lack of public policies that are sufficient to meet the demand. Often, our hands are tied without being able to provide some social assistance such as housing, work, day care, among others. Without these resources, it is difficult for women to get out of the situation of violence. Therefore, our goal is to break this cycle through access to rights. Unfortunately, financial dependence makes these women stay longer with their aggressors, increasing their exposure to violence and putting their lives at risk.

Another problem is that we don’t have enough people to do our work on the front lines, and is difficult to find a  a sustainable way to support ourselves that are currently doing this job in the long term.

Neuza Nascimento: And the victories?

Raquel: Our victories are CDVida’s 23 years of existence, our partners and, of course, the women who managed to break away from violence, support themselves, and continue to be protagonists of their own stories.

Neuza Nascimento: What are the current needs of the project?

Raquel: Improve our external communication, adapt our language to the different audiences we have, especially on social networks. We also want to gain new support, partnerships and ensure that other people can multiply CDVida’s philosophy.

Neuza Nascimento: Any future actions?

Raquel: We have the idea of ​​implementing a reflexive therapeutic group for men. Because of the pandemic, we also want to make lives and reach a larger audience. We are also planning to teach online courses, one of which is in partnership with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) on the incidence of religion in politics. For the next year, we are planning a course on Women and Human Rights.

CDVida needs all the support they can get. Contact them via the links below and donate. The women assisted are grateful.

Contacts: +55 (21) 3774-3993

cdvida-defesadavida@hotmail.com

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Pix: cdvida-defesadavida@hotmail.com