11/24/2023 – 19:43
Responsible to the Judiciary for defending the interests of society, the Brazilian Public Ministry does not reflect the Brazilian population in its composition. While in Brazil, 56.1% of people call themselves black and brown, within the Public Ministry, only 6.5% are black women and 13.2% are black men, of the total number of members who joined in the last five years.
The data is from the research Ethnic-Racial Profile of the Brazilian Public Ministry and monitoring of CNMP affirmative actionscarried out by the National Council of the Public Ministry, in partnership with the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea).
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The study was presented this Thursday (23), during the MPDFT Livre de Racismo event, promoted by the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT), in reference to Black Awareness Day, celebrated on November 20.
Ethnic-Racial Research
Even without reaching the majority black composition or, at least, the balance of black representation, the survey points to a scenario of improvement in this regard in all branches of the Public Ministry.
When comparing members and employees with more than 20 years of public service and those who have up to five years since taking office, an increase of more than 40% in the participation rate of black people in the institution’s units was verified, going from 28, 8% participation of black people, among those who have been working in the Public Ministry for over 20 years, to 38.1% among those who joined more recently.
In 2017, the National Council of the Public Ministry published the Resolution CNMP 170 with the aim of increasing this representation, starting from the reservation for black people of at least 20% of the vacancies offered in the public competitions of the CNMP and the Public Ministry, as well as the entry into the careers of members of the bodies. Even so, the percentages are still disproportionate.
The MPDFT prosecutor and coordinator of the Human Rights Centers (NDH)/ Counteracting Discrimination Center (NED), Polyanna Silvares de Moraes Dias, confirms that racial diversity in public institutions is important. The prosecutor highlighted that the institution’s objectives are to implement internal policies that curb inequalities and injustices, in addition to trying to make the MPDFT a place free from discrimination.
“The scientific finding on the disparity between the number of the black population in our country and that of black women and men in places of power, notably as members of the Brazilian Public Ministry, highlights the urgency in debating and implementing measures that strengthen inclusion, as well how to achieve a culture of racial equity within institutions”, observed Polyanna Dias
The research provides other information about the intern selection process; the inclusion of the theme of promoting racial equality in initial and continuing training activities for members and employees; and the creation and operation of bodies specialized in promoting ethnic-racial equality in all units and branches of the Public Ministry.
Data collection for the research took place between October 2022 and April this year and involved the 26 units of the Public Ministry in the states and the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT), in addition to the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), of the Ministry Labor Public Ministry (MPT) and the Military Public Ministry (MPM).
The Public Ministry’s Ethnic-Racial Profile included data from members, employees and interns of the institutions. In total, information was received from 83,992 people.
Racism-free MPDFT
Also this Thursday, for the MPDFT free from Racism event, Carla Akotirene, a doctor in Feminist Studies from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and consultant in public policies in the area of gender and race, was invited. For more than two hours, those present debated the fight against institutional racism, especially in public ministry units.
Carla Akotirene understands that custody hearings are true rooms that reproduce the colonial scene of condemning the black population. It also denounces the criminal practice of a forged crime by police authorities. The consultant evaluates the discussion promoted by the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT) as positive.
“When the prosecutor’s office commits to understanding how racism works, we begin to have more confidence in the fight against mass incarceration,” says Bahian researcher Carla Akotirene.
MPDFT prosecutor Polyanna Silvares de Moraes Dias highlights the need to engage and, equally, lead employees to reflect on the functioning of racism in society and make them capable of recognizing, criticizing and combating racist attitudes in their daily lives. “In this matter, we had this opportunity to live these experiences, to enrich our repertoire. I have an internal challenge and I also try to bring the need for racial literacy to our institution. This is the purpose of our meeting. When we see a society in which black people make up 54, 56% of the population, but incarcerated people make up 70%, we have to doubt and question this.”
Prosecutor and coordinator of the MPDFT Human Rights Center, Liz Elainne de Silvério e Oliveira Mendes emphasizes that it is necessary to review the role of the punitive and accusatory prosecutor, with respect for human rights. “Today, we want to bring this new vision of criminal law that does involve accountability, but in a more negotiated way. Above all, valuing the person who was victimized, seeking reparations and, not so much, punishment with deprivation of liberty. A public security perspective also focused on quality of life and respect for human rights.”
Promotion of rights
In the audience at the event, MPDFT social service analyst, Carolina Varjão, approved the discussion promoted about institutional racism. “We started to think about how we can promote the rights of this black population, in our Brazilian society, which has always been marked by the suffering imposed by the West, by Europe, on the African population who are here in Brazil in diaspora.” The analyst says she hopes that the discussions will spark reflection among employees about discrimination. “I hope that it has also awakened white civil servants and prosecutors, so that they can be allies in some way, so that they can be critical of their privilege as a white person and that they can build a public ministry with prosecutors that guarantee rights”;
Psychologist Cíntia Ciaralo came to practice black activism, because she thinks there is a need for change. “The justice system is extremely whitewashed. We see it through the actors. Perhaps this is an issue that needs greater visibility. When Dr. Cátia Akotirene calls a custody hearing a colonial scene, I think it’s fantastic, because there would be a reproduction of a memory that is being established in the very mechanisms of justice”,
In Black Consciousness Month, the fiscal agent at the Regional Council of Social Services, Ana Gabriela Pereira, says she believes that spaces for discussion and training, such as the one promoted at the public ministry headquarters, are essential for changing mentality and positions. “The users of our services are black people. We, social workers, fight for rights for a fairer society and this includes being in these spaces for debate about racism. I am in favor of the anti-racist fight and, therefore, we occupy these spaces. The debate from the perspective of intersectionality, about the space of black women within society and the discussion about the violations they suffer, are very important for us.”
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