Women's police stations (also units or offices) – es, Comisaría de la Mujer, pt, Delegacia da mulher – are
police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, ...
s specializing in crimes with female victims. They were first introduced in 1985 in Brazil and are numerous in Latin America.
According to ''Latin American Perspectives'', the first women's police station was opened in
Sao Paulo
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and "In the first six months of operation, the DDM processed 2,083 reports."
Officers
An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
at these stations are only allowed to respond to certain crimes, such as
psychological violence,
domestic violence,
family violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partner ...
, as well as specific types of threats and
sexual violence
Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...
. Some units offer financial help, counseling, and medical care for women who are having trouble.
[
In India, a study found "the establishment of 188 women's police stations resulted in a 23 percent increase in reporting of crimes against women and children and a higher conviction rate between 2002 and 2004".] A 2020 study found that women who lived near women's police stations in Brazil had higher trust in the police. A 2020 study found that the implementation of all-women's police stations in India had counterproductive impacts on victims of gender-based violence.
Aim
Women's police stations are located in mostly Latin American countries where rates of rape and violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often con ...
are high. Americasquarterly.org states, "Femicide—the killing of women—has reached alarming levels in Latin America. The most recent region-wide statistics available, from 2003, show that seven Latin American countries score among the worst 10 nations when measuring the rate of femicide per one million women in 40 countries." Women's police stations are also in Ghana, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Pakistan, Kosovo, Liberia, Nicaragua, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda and Uruguay. A policewoman at a station in Pakistan states, "Even if a woman is being beaten and psychologically tortured, she's told to consider her husband's honor and not go to the police station." Some women in Latin America do not even know their rights, Endvawow.org states, "Only in Brazil had a majority of women surveyed receiving training or information about their rights one or more times (by any source): 54% in Brazil, 42% in Nicaragua, 34% in Peru, and 23% in Ecuador." According to Hautzinger in her article ''Criminalising Male Violence in Brazil's Women's Police Stations'', in Salvador, Brazil in regular police stations in spousal violence cases less than 2% actually went to court and the punishments the men did get were very minor. Endvawnow states that women police stations are an important first step for crimes to enter the justice system.
Results
Women's police stations have greatly expanded since 1985. Endvawnow.org states, "In 2010, there were 475 WPS in Brazil, 34 in Ecuador, 59 in Nicaragua, and 27 in Peru." In Santos' article ''EN-GENDERING THE POLICE'' states, "They omen's police stationsexpanded victims' citizenship rights, allowing them to denounce a violence that not long ago was invisible and considered a private matter. In 2000, for example, 310,058 complaints of violence against women were registered in the women's police stations of Sao Paulo." Language barriers and the inability to get to a station is still a problem. According to Endvawnow.org, women's police stations are located in more populated areas making it hard for women in rural area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descr ...
s to get to them and women who do not speak the same language as the policewomen can not communicate effectively. Endvawnow.org also states "It was also found that poor and less educated women are sometimes ignored in the WPS. Also, despite psychological violence being illegal in all four countries, operators frequently prioritise those cases in which women have severe visible physical injuries, and may resist accepting complaints of psychological violence."
See also
*Women-only space
A women-only space is an area where only women (and in some cases children) are allowed, thus providing a place where they do not have to interact with men. Historically and globally, many cultures had, and many still have, some form of female sec ...
*Women's shelter
A women's shelter, also known as a women's refuge and battered women's shelter, is a place of temporary protection and support for women escaping domestic violence and intimate partner violence of all forms. The term is also frequently used to ...
References
{{Authority control
Feminism and health
Gender-related violence
Misogyny
Violence against women in Brazil
Police stations
Police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, ...