AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHALLENGES TO ENSURING WOMEN'S RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND PERSONAL SECURITY IN BRAZIL

Resumen

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Brazil has advanced in the recognition of women’s rights in both legal and social spheres. Feminist movements, which gained visibility in the late 1970s, shifted public attention to gender-based violence, previously confined to the private sphere. Today, these issues are debated in schools, universities, and households. Nevertheless, the increasing rates of femicide, rape—including those against vulnerable victims—and homicide underscore the complexity of Brazilian women’s lived realities, deeply shaped by a colonial legacy that perpetuates structural inequalities.

This article seeks to analyze the challenges to guaranteeing women’s rights to life, liberty, and personal security. It also examines how the Brazilian legal tradition has historically curtailed female autonomy and how misogyny continues to hinder the full realization of such rights. The study employs a historical survey grounded in bibliographic and documentary sources to identify mechanisms that legitimized and normalized violations against women over time.

Through a qualitative approach, the analysis critically reviews these sources and reveals the formation of a theoretical tradition that profoundly influenced the collective imagination of femininity. This tradition served to justify the disciplining and exploitation of women’s bodies, the restriction of free will, and the suppression of their physical and mental integrity. Ultimately, the study highlights how these processes undermined women’s dignity as citizens and stresses the urgent need to dismantle such structures to effectively ensure fundamental rights.