By Giovana Sanchez
Every seven minutes, a complaint of violence against women is registered in Brazil, according to the Secretariat of Policies for Women. On International Women's Day, March 8, Brazilian newspaper O Estado de São Paulo published these reports via Twitter at the exact frequency that they occur: every seven minutes. The newspaper posted real complaints collected by the Center for Assistance to Women — Dial 180.
Tweet above reads: "Report 199 of the day: In Salvador, nutritionist was beaten until she passed out"
Using the hashtag #7minutos1denuncia (#7minutes1complaint), the 205 complaints were published throughout the day, and, according to the newspaper, were in fourth place in Twitter Brazil's trending topics.
Allegations of assault and femicide were accompanied by a link to an article from the newspaper with detailed data on violence against women in Brazil — such as the fact that almost half of the complaints correspond to physical abuse (49.8%), and most (58.5%) are against black women.
International Women's Day is celebrated each March 8 with meetings, conferences, festivals and more. It honors the achievements of women around the world and calls special attention to issues affecting women, such as gender inequality or violence.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
