Nine in ten women in Brazil's Federal District, home to the capital Brasília, say they have suffered psychological violence (91%), and 82% report having been victims of physical violence. The figures come from an overview of violence against women in the district released by the Federal District's Institute of Research and Statistics together with the Women's Secretariat, according to a report by G1. The data are drawn from the 11th edition of the National Survey on Violence Against Women, conducted by the DataSenado research institute with the Women's Observatory Against Violence, with fieldwork carried out between May 16 and July 8, 2025.

Among victims, 48% were assaulted by their partner, and 31% of the district's female population reported having been attacked by a man, the most frequent profile of aggressor in reports of the most severe violence. About the moment of the assault, 51% of the women said the aggressor was jealous, and 48% said he was upset about the end or attempted end of the relationship. For 73% of respondents, the aggression weighed heavily in the breakup. Anthropologist Beatriz Accioly, a public policy manager at Instituto Natura, adds a methodological caveat: the figure does not show that breakups cause violence. What it indicates, she says, is that separation can be a critical moment when control and possessiveness become especially visible.

The "protection paradox"

The survey also measured what women know about the protection network, and a contrast emerges. In the Federal District, 98% of women know or have heard of the women's police station (Delegacia da Mulher), and 28% say they know the Maria da Penha Law, Brazil's landmark 2006 domestic violence law, above the national average of 21%. When asked about concrete instruments, the picture changes: 78% say they know little or nothing about urgent protective measures.

"This shows that the visibility of the network and the ability to navigate it are not the same thing," Accioly told G1. "If she does not know that a protective measure exists, that possibility does not even enter the set of alternatives she can consider when facing violence."

Rafaela Mitre, coordinator of the Women's Defense Unit at the Federal District's Public Defender's Office, says the result matches what the institution sees in its services. According to her, many women arrive without knowing about protective measures and believe they must necessarily file a police report or hire a lawyer to request them. The risk, Mitre says, is that a victim stays in a violent situation believing there is no way out, or fails to recognize that control, stalking, threats and psychological violence can also justify court protection.

There are limits to interpreting the data. The survey records self-reported experiences and, as Accioly notes, was not designed to explain individually why a woman stays in a violent relationship: leaving involves risk, emotional and family ties, children, housing and income. Staying, therefore, should not be read as ignorance of one's rights.

Where to seek help

Urgent protective measures are court orders under the Maria da Penha Law that can, for example, remove the aggressor from the home and bar him from approaching the victim. A request can be made at any police station, including specialized women's stations, or directly to the courts with support from the Public Defender's Office, without requiring a private lawyer or a prior police report, as the district's Public Defender's Office explains. In situations of immediate risk, the guidance is to call 190 (Military Police). The federal women's hotline, Ligue 180, operates 24 hours, is free of charge and provides guidance on rights and protection services across the country.