Mulheres interrompidas : relatos de violências contra mulheres na Região Colonial Italiana - 1890-1920

Abstract

The communities formed by Italian immigrants in Brazil owned a development that kept following over the years. The adaptation of a series of elements coming from the motherland s culture to Brazil formed distinct communities, where the labor was an important element in the composition of the family. The society followed the patriarchal atterns, making the women subjected to obey the men, even it was at work, in daily life or in the relationships that were established among them. The women from those communities were in charge of raising children, familiar cohesion, housewor chores, farm chores and small animals, among others. The cultural and moral context were strongly marked by the patriarchy, the religion universe and by an imperative world, where the women became silent in the face of the various forms of violence, whether psychological or physical, committed against them. Police investigations were proceeded against the defloration crimes, harassment, calumnies, unsuccessful surgical procedures, bodily injuries, poisoning, among others, with the purpose of clarifying and punish the guilties. From this scenery, the present essay discusses the violence against the Italian women and Italian descendent women in Rio Grande do Sul, in the 1890-1920s, trough the studies of criminal cases originated in the Caxias do Sul District and bibliography about the subject. From this, it is possible to demonstrate the experienced scenery lived by women, their limitations and desires, fundamental element to the comprehension of the relationships lived by those communities