Santarém Women's Police Station Now Open 24/7 Amidst Rising Violence
The Specialized Women's Service (Deam) in Santarém, located in the western Pará region of Brazil, will now operate 24 hours a day. Governor Hana Ghassan announced this change on Monday, May 3rd, also confirming authorization for a new Civil Police public examination to increase law enforcement personnel in the state. This decision follows a series of femicides in the municipality over recent weeks, aiming to bolster the protection network for women victims of violence. Governor Ghassan stated that the extended hours are a direct response to the need for continuous support for victims, acknowledging that implementing this model across other regions of Pará presents significant challenges related to budget, staffing, and training. She highlighted that four women in Santarém had their lives ended by ex-partners, prompting her to act decisively. To further strengthen public safety and combat violence against women, the governor has authorized a public examination for the Civil Police, which will increase the number of specialized service providers. In addition to structural security improvements, Ghassan urged women to register for the "SOS Mulher" program, a government initiative designed to expedite emergency responses. This free and quick registration allows women in danger to silently alert the Military Police via 190, enabling faster location and assistance. The program is promoted as a preventative measure, akin to a vaccine, for any woman's protection. Recent data underscores the severity of the situation in Santarém: from January to July of this year, the Domestic and Family Violence Against Women Court received 1,873 requests for urgent protective measures, averaging about 270 per month. Currently, 902 criminal cases related to domestic violence, including threats, bodily harm, and violation of protective orders, are ongoing. Between January and June, Santarém recorded two completed femicides, six attempted femicides, and 535 cases of domestic violence-related bodily harm, with three more femicides occurring in July not yet officially tallied. This represents a significant increase compared to the same period in 2025, which saw one femicide, nine attempts, and 351 bodily harm cases. The surge in violence includes specific cases such as the shooting death of Caroline Fontineli Carneiro Pereira, 26, on March 19th, by a penal police officer who later died by suicide. Tainá Yarina dos Santos Cardoso, 29, died after an argument with her partner on July 19th, and Edmara de Sousa Góes, 22, was found dead on July 25th, with a minor confessing to the crime. The most recent case involves Dayse Diniz, 25, found dead on July 28th after disappearing on July 23rd; the suspect, João Pedro Pereira dos Santos, a fugitive convicted of a previous femicide, confessed and is now in preventive detention.
The expansion of the Santarém Women's Police Station hours and the planned Civil Police recruitment reflect a governmental response to escalating gender-based violence, particularly femicides. This initiative addresses immediate victim support needs but highlights systemic challenges in resource allocation and staffing for effective, widespread implementation across Pará. The "SOS Mulher" program offers a technological layer to emergency response, aiming to mitigate risks for women in immediate danger. However, the persistent high volume of protective measure requests and ongoing criminal cases indicates that while support structures are being enhanced, the underlying societal and legal factors contributing to domestic violence and femicide require sustained, multi-faceted interventions beyond immediate policing and emergency services. Future policy considerations might focus on preventative education, economic empowerment programs for women, and more robust rehabilitation or monitoring for offenders to break cycles of violence.
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