O Silêncio da Vítima de Violência Doméstica durante a Instrução Processual

Abstract

MOTTA, Alexsandro. O Silêncio da vítima de violência doméstica durante a audiência de instrução processual. 2024. 258 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Direito) – Faculdade de Direito, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, 2024. Domestic violence against women is one of the main ways human rights are violated, affecting their lives, health and physical integrity. Although Brazil has implemented several measures to combat domestic violence, statistical data indicate that violence against women has still increased. One of the essential principles of the rule of law is the control of violence in the community, in compliance with the right to collective security. Crimes related to gender violence are committed, generally in hiding, without the presence of witnesses, with the victim's word being of great importance in producing evidence. For the process to be properly instructed, it will be necessary to hold an investigation hearing where testimonial evidence will be produced, and the victim will be heard. In this context, the victim's “right” to remain silent has been alleged in the hearings, as an unfolding of the principle of human dignity. The present work aims to analyze the apparent conflict of fundamental rights, between the State's public interest in punishing the perpetrators of crimes committed against women, and their right to silence during criminal prosecution. Qualitative and applied research was carried out, in an exploratory and descriptive way, through bibliographical research, generating knowledge for practical applications, using a deductive approach method, with theoretical survey and in-depth study on gender violence. As a result of the research, it was concluded that in the context of domestic violence, the commission of a crime has a particular uniqueness, as the victim often tends to protect the offender and blame himself for the attacks, due to the psychological phenomenon of the cycle of violence, shame, reconciliation, fear and revictimization. The Brazilian State has demonstrated, through various actions, that it is strongly committed to combating domestic violence against women. The international system for the protection of Human Rights converges on protecting the victim through legal structures that allow them to speak freely, without the risk of being victimized, encouraging their participation as a central part of the procedural system, and at no time encourages the idea that their silence can contribute to you or be some form of protection. In the internal normative system, no infra-constitutional law provides for the victim's right to remain silent, there are normative provisions that establish procedures that avoid the chance of revictimization. In the judicial field, most decisions in Brazil do not recognize the existence of a “victim's right to silence” within the legal system. From a political and social perspective, the adoption of a victim's right to silence would represent a setback to this evolving social process of combating domestic violence against women. Keywords: Woman. Human rights. Silence. Procedural Instruction.