Sorry about the sensationalist title - I'm not very good with that. Anyway, it's all over the news here in Brazil: the mother of Rayron Gracie, Elaine Caparroz, survived a brutal attack by a man she was just starting a relationship with - Vinicius Batista Serra, a real maniac there. She was beaten for 4 hours. Her bruised face is all over the news - kind of unnecessary exposition if you ask me, but if you want to check it out, feel free. Watch out, though - I got enough rage for the whole couple of months looking at the pictures of her and her place, blood over the walls, ground and furniture.
BJJ champion and a relative to Mrs. Caparroz, Kyra Gracie spoke about the incident and stated that, since Mrs. Caparroz was used to watching BJJ matches, she might have developed a sense of how to defend herself in that situation, even though she didn't have formal training, and that it might have helped save her life. I believe she might actually be right on that. Authorities have stated that the assaulter tried to strangle her a couple of times, even attacking her arms and biting her, so that she would stop protecting her neck.
Statistically, Brazil is an absolute champion on violence against women. People do care, but they shit themselves if they have to get involved. And there's all sorts of bullshit about this case on the internet - people saying she was asking for it; ultra-religious folks going on about sex, marriage and the life of widows and divorced women; the old talk about the perils of dating over the internet. I understand some remarks - the ones about self defense, awareness, and the dangers of drawing attention or walking alone - may actually be good advice for everyone, especially women, to follow. But the thing that bugs me the most is that this woman was pretty careful about her new relationship. She kept in touch with this Vinicius dude for a couple of months before actually letting him in her house.
Moreover, I think the real issue here is that violence against women happens even if they're more careful than Mrs. Caparroz was. And it's the same situation with children around here. In Brazil, most women and children are assaulted by people they trust - many times by members of the family, relatives and close friends.
BJJ champion and a relative to Mrs. Caparroz, Kyra Gracie spoke about the incident and stated that, since Mrs. Caparroz was used to watching BJJ matches, she might have developed a sense of how to defend herself in that situation, even though she didn't have formal training, and that it might have helped save her life. I believe she might actually be right on that. Authorities have stated that the assaulter tried to strangle her a couple of times, even attacking her arms and biting her, so that she would stop protecting her neck.
Statistically, Brazil is an absolute champion on violence against women. People do care, but they shit themselves if they have to get involved. And there's all sorts of bullshit about this case on the internet - people saying she was asking for it; ultra-religious folks going on about sex, marriage and the life of widows and divorced women; the old talk about the perils of dating over the internet. I understand some remarks - the ones about self defense, awareness, and the dangers of drawing attention or walking alone - may actually be good advice for everyone, especially women, to follow. But the thing that bugs me the most is that this woman was pretty careful about her new relationship. She kept in touch with this Vinicius dude for a couple of months before actually letting him in her house.
Moreover, I think the real issue here is that violence against women happens even if they're more careful than Mrs. Caparroz was. And it's the same situation with children around here. In Brazil, most women and children are assaulted by people they trust - many times by members of the family, relatives and close friends.
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