Program Empoderadas staff protest unpaid wages, UERJ suspends activities
Staff members of the 'Empoderadas' program, a state initiative aimed at combating violence against women, protested outside the Guanabara Palace in Laranjeiras on Monday, May 27th. They are demanding payment for seven months of overdue salaries, a situation that has led to severe financial hardship, including debt and eviction threats. Celeste Alcântara, a program professional, reported accumulating six months of unpaid rent and facing eviction notices, while Gláucia Pandoro continued working throughout her pregnancy and even used her own money for work-related expenses. The University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) suspended new activities of the 'Empoderadas' program on Friday, May 24th, due to a lack of resource transfers from the state government. This decision, made by Rector Gulnar Azevedo e Silva, is a precautionary measure pending the formalization of the partnership and the transfer of funds. The university cited legal and financial risks associated with continuing the program without budgetary support. The 'Empoderadas' program, established in 2022, offers self-defense classes, legal and psychosocial support, and professional qualification courses for women experiencing violence. The suspension comes at a time when femicide rates are reportedly increasing across Brazil. The state government stated that the program's contract was signed by the previous administration and that current repasses are delayed pending an audit of all contracts from the prior management, aiming to ensure transparency and protect public funds. The government indicated that any decision on future payments hinges on the conclusion of these audits.
The suspension of the 'Empoderadas' program and the subsequent protest highlight a critical systemic failure in public policy execution, where administrative processes and financial oversight lag behind the urgent needs of vulnerable populations. The delay in payments, attributed by the state government to audits of past contracts, raises questions about inter-agency coordination and the continuity of essential services during governmental transitions. This situation underscores the inherent tension between fiscal responsibility and social welfare imperatives, particularly in programs designed to address gender-based violence. Future governance models may need to incorporate more robust mechanisms for ensuring immediate fund disbursement for critical social programs, even while maintaining rigorous accountability for public expenditure, to prevent such detrimental disruptions to vital support systems.
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