{"id":53735,"date":"2019-06-06T12:50:52","date_gmt":"2019-06-06T15:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=53735"},"modified":"2019-06-08T13:51:29","modified_gmt":"2019-06-08T16:51:29","slug":"institutions-from-five-brazilian-states-launch-network-to-monitor-violence-and-human-rights-abuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=53735","title":{"rendered":"Institutions from Five Brazilian States Launch Network to Monitor Violence and Human Rights Abuses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Institutions from five Brazilian states have joined together to launch the Network of Public Security Observatories<\/a>, a collaborative initiative to track a broad range of violence and human rights indicators. As of June 1, the Network has begun monitoring 16 indicators ranging from race, gender, and religion-based crimes to police violence and massacres within the Brazilian prison system.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the success of the Intervention Observatory<\/a>, a monitoring body created in response to the 2018 federal military intervention<\/a> in Rio de Janeiro’s state public security, the Network unites research institutions in Cear\u00e1, Pernambuco, Bahia, S\u00e3o Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro states. Researchers will draw data from print and online news sources, social media, monitoring partners like Fogo Cruzado<\/a>, and existing official databases.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Silvia Ramos, a program coordinator at C\u00e2ndido Mendes University\u2019s Center for Security and Citizenship Studies<\/a> (CESeC), explained that on top of addressing existing indicators with rigor and transparency, the Network of Public Security Observatories strives to give greater context to commonly cited statistics. \u201cWe spend all this time tallying up homicides,\u201d said Ramos. \u201cHomicides are the tip of the iceberg. For each homicide committed by the police that we count, how many scared kids are we missing? How many threats are we missing?\u201d<\/p>\n

For Julita Lemgruber, a sociologist and coordinator at CESeC, the Network will fill crucial gaps. Referring to the dozens killed in a Manaus prison<\/a> just days prior to the Network\u2019s launch, Lemgruber declared that it was essential for the country to begin tracking deaths within Brazilian prisons. \u201cThis could have only taken place in a country where some lives matter less than others,\u201d Lemgruber lamented. \u201cThe people that died in this prison in Manaus were members of groups that are unfortunately seen as disposable.\u201d The Network, said Lemgruber, would provide the data necessary for holding authorities in public and private penitentiaries accountable for their actions and for their neglect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By including indicators such as racial abuse, violence against LGBTQ+ populations<\/a>, and protest-related violence, the Network hopes to dig into the narratives that underlie official figures. The launch event thus saw a wide range of civil society members and state actors in attendance, including some of Rio\u2019s best-known favela activists.<\/p>\n

Edu Carvalho<\/a> of Rocinha<\/a>, located in the city\u2019s South Zone<\/a>, recalled the anniversaries of the deaths of Eduardo Felipe Santos Victor<\/a> and Douglas Rodrigues<\/a>, both of whom died at the hands of police: \u201cThe difference between Douglas, Eduardo, and this Eduardo speaking to you now, is that I\u2019m alive and they\u2019re not.\u201d Carvalho, who worked as an advisor to the Intervention Observatory in 2018, called the Network \u201cimportant and absolutely necessary\u201d for the clarification of cases of police violence. In the cases of both Santos Victor and Rodrigues, judges absolved the Military Police officers responsible.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The launch of the Network of Public Security Observatories comes at a time of unprecedented levels of police violence in Rio, and favela partners hope to play a key role in monitoring efforts. According to official statistics from the Institute of Public Security (ISP), Rio police killed 558<\/a> people in the first fourth months of 2019, more than in any first trimester on record<\/a>. However, as cases such as that of Santos Victor demonstrate\u2014where an amateur video of police tampering with the crime scene<\/a> surfaced thus providing attention which would otherwise have been minimal\u2014official data hold little weight in the absence of community observation.<\/p>\n

Ramos emphasized that every step of the Network’s formation has been carried out in consultation with favela activists and residents. Collaboration with favela leaders and community-based organizations are the source of the Network’s legitimacy while also providing data from their existing monitoring technologies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Raull Santiago<\/a> of Coletivo Papo Reto<\/a>, a public security and human rights media collective from the favelas of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a> in Rio\u2019s North Zone<\/a>, said that the favela activists present at the launch event are \u201cnatural observers.\u201d Santiago, a longtime CESeC collaborator, lamented that residents of Brazil\u2019s peripheries are often excluded from discussions on public security policy and lauded the Network for involving those most affected by police violence.<\/p>\n

Eliana Sousa Silva<\/a>, founder of Redes da Mar\u00e9<\/a> (Mar\u00e9 Development Networks NGO)\u2014located in the favelas of Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a>, also in the city\u2019s North Zone\u2014agreed with Santiago, saying that she sees the Network of Public Security Observatories as an opportunity to bring data directly to the people. The violent situation in Rio\u2019s favelas can only be changed, said Silva, \u201cif those most affected by the violence are directly involved in monitoring projects. The Network is part of this and is doing it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Itamar Silva, coordinator of the Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Analysis<\/a> (IBASE), pointed to the presence of state representatives Renata Souza<\/a> and M\u00f4nica Francisco<\/a>\u2014two black women from favelas elected to public office<\/a>\u2014as a sign of progress. However, as Silva said, a broad public must be brought on board in order to achieve real change. \u201cPermission has been given<\/a> for [these youth] to be killed every day and we haven\u2019t been able to mobilize society,\u201d said Silva.\u201cWe need more people in this boat<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Institutions from five Brazilian states have joined together to launch the Network of Public Security Observatories, a collaborative initiative to track a broad range of violence and human rights indicators. As […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":162,"featured_media":53848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1288,1290,1333,1282,1329],"tags":[1181,2530,1606,364,280,32,2420,25,634,2772,1507,918,37,17,2481,809,1555,268,30,2076],"writer":[2609],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-53735","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-highlight","8":"category-civilsociety","9":"category-event-reports","10":"category-research-analysis","11":"category-by-international-observers","12":"tag-appropriate-technology","13":"tag-cesec","14":"tag-coletivo-papo-reto","15":"tag-community-based-organization-cbo","16":"tag-complexo-da-mare","17":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","18":"tag-extrajudicial-killings","19":"tag-human-rights","20":"tag-ibase","21":"tag-intervention-observatory","22":"tag-lgbt","23":"tag-military-police","24":"tag-north-zone","25":"tag-police-brutality","26":"tag-police-violence","27":"tag-public-security","28":"tag-redes-de-desenvolvimento-da-mare","29":"tag-state-violence","30":"tag-urban-violence","31":"tag-violence-against-women","32":"writer-edmund-ruge"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/162"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53735"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=53735"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=53735"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=53735"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=53735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}