On January 16, 2014, the Brazilian Studies Association and the Human Rights Program welcomed Valdênia Paulino, a well-known Brazilian Human Rights activist, for a talk at Harvard Law School. Valdênia is one of the co-founders of Sapopemba Human Rights Center, which became a reference in the fight against police violence in the city of São Paulo. She also held the position of ombudsman in the police department of the of Paraíba. In view of several death threats, Valdênia has had to leave Brazil in different periods, always returning back to give continuity to her work.
Valdênia provided examples of the failure of the presence of the state in prisons, where there are often violent deaths resulting from fights between different groups of organized crime. She stressed the historical roots and institutional biases that allow for the continuing economic and social exploitation by the political and economic agricultural elite, leading to an overwhelmingly majority of Afro-descendants held behind bars. Valdênia further addressed the disconnection between economic development and human rights and the significant challenges faced to reconcile both.
Based on her experience, major challenges faced by human rights activists in Brazil are the criminalization of social movements, demonization of human rights agendas and sustainability of projects – in view of decreasing financial and human rights resources, as well as fragmentation of movements by the government in order to exercise control.
Valdênia showed optimist in relation to the increasing organization of civil society in Brazil towards the protection of lgbt and women rights. She expressed concern and pessimism in relation to public security as the police controls privileged information about officials in all branches of the government, thereby exercising strong control over a broad spectrum of institutions.
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