Equality Now Submits an Amicus Brief in Brazil to Promote the Enforcement of International Standards in the Case of Thelma Fardin, a Victim of Teenage Rape

The primary purpose of Equality Now’s intervention in the case is to promote the effective application by the Fifth Chamber of the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region, in São Paulo, Brazil, of the regional standards established in the American Convention, the Convention of Belém do Pará, and other human rights instruments that the State of Brazil has ratified and that should be part of its legal system. Based on these standards, the brief argues that the State must comply with its duty to guarantee adequate protection of the rights of girls, adolescents and women who have been victims of sexual violence, recognizing the lack of consent as the central pillar to sexual violence crimes.

This case not only represents an opportunity for the Brazilian justice system to establish a crucial precedent in relation to the lack of consent as a central element in crimes of sexual violence, but also offers the possibility of recognizing that institutional violence or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment exercised by judicial personnel against victims not only revictimizes them, but also hinders their access to justice.

Equality Now is confident that the intervention of the Amicus Curiae will contribute to the strengthening of judicial and regulatory mechanisms in the region to effectively and forcefully address sexual violence and end impunity for aggressors.