violência sexual e estupro

Articles 154-158 prohibit 1) anyone, without the pregnant woman’s consent, to provoke or cause a miscarriage; 2) anyone, with the pregnant woman’s consent, to perform or assist with an abortion; and 3) any pregnant woman from, by any means, participating or consenting to an abortion. These three felonies carry sentences of 2-8 years, 1-5 years, and 5 years of imprisonment, respectively. (article 154). Article 155 provides for increased sentences if the abortion harms the woman’s physical integrity or causes death.

The promotion or facilitation of prostitution involve taking advantage of the victim’s economic necessity or vulnerability or coerce the victim by means of violence, threat or fraud pursuant to article 189, and it is punished with a sentence of 1-8 years of imprisonment. If the facilitation or coercion to prostitution is made in a foreign country, the crime committed falls within article 190, i.e. human sexual trafficking, which command a higher sentencing of up to 10 years in prison.

The Penal Code distinguishes and applies different penalties in accordance with the age of the minor. Pursuant to article 192, the prohibition of the perpetration of a sexual act with a minor under 14 years old or leading that minor to practice such acts with a third person is punished with up to 12 years in prison. Again, the law makes a distinction whether the act involved penetration, in which case the maximum punishment increases to 15 years.

The law distinguishes the crimes of “sexual aggression” and “sexual aggression with penetration.” A person commits the crime of sexual aggression (article 182) if (i) he or she practices a sexual act by means of coercion, violence, or threat against someone, including a spouse, or (ii) he or she enables another person to commit such act against a third person and the sentence ranges from six months to four years of imprisonment.

Under Article 140, abortion is considered a “crime against the intra-uterine life,” and someone who causes an abortion without the consent of the pregnant woman may be sentenced from 2-8 years of imprisonment, while the person who performed the abortion and the pregnant woman can be sentence to up to three years of imprisonment.

Article 163 punishes sexual coercion – to coerce someone to practice a “relevant sexual act” – with imprisonment from one to eight years. Article 164 punishes forcible intercourse (“violação”) with imprisonment from one to six years. Article 168 punishes artificial procreation without a woman’s consent, with imprisonment from one to eight years. Articles 171 and 172 punish sexual abuse of minors of 14 years with imprisonment from 1-10 years. Article 173 punishes sexual acts with adolescents (individuals between 14 and 16 years old) with imprisonment up to three years.

The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal or “STF”) denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus of the petitioner, upholding the constitutionality of Article 224(a) of the Penal Code which establishes a presumption of violence in sex crimes against minors. The petitioner was convicted of rape and child abuse, and was sentenced to a prison term of eight years for rape and one year and ten months for child abuse.

The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal or “STF”) denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus of the petitioner, who had been convicted by the Superior Court of Justice (“STJ”) of raping his two minor daughters, both under the age of 14, over a period of five years. Although the petitioner had been sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in jail for his crimes, the lower court subsequently reduced the petitioner’ sentence by one-quarter, pursuant to Presidential Decree No.

This section outlines the punishments for prostitution. Anyone who promotes or facilitates prostitution by a woman is subject to one-two years in prison, but anyone who promotes another’s prostitution through violence, fraud, abuse of authority, or exploitation of the other’s situation is punishable with two-eight years in prison. Whomever habitually partakes in prostitution with someone under the age of 18 can be imprisoned from two-eight years or be fined for up to one year.

This section states crimes against sexual freedom, including the conditions under which sexual encounters violate a woman’s safety and the punishments thereafter. Anyone who engages in sexual activity without the woman’s consent by means of violence or physical intimidation, even if an act of artificial procreation, is subject to two to eight years in prison. Those who have sexual encounters with minors face imprisonment of 16-20 years.