VULNERABILITY OF FEMINICIDE ORPHANS AND PUBLIC POLICIES

Abstract

The research addresses the complex reality of children and adolescents who lose their mothers to feminicide in Brazil. The effectiveness of existing and proposed public policies to ensure the full protection of these orphans, highlighting their emotional, social and economic vulnerabilities. The text begins by questioning whether Law No. 14.717/2023, which establishes a special pension for orphans of feminicide, is sufficient to mitigate the profound impacts of the crime on the lives of these indirect victims. Although the law represents progress, it is presented as a "palliative remedy", focused only on financial support and conditioned on a low family income limit (per capita). It is argued that full protection goes far beyond economic assistance, requiring social inclusion, psychosocial care and non-discriminatory education. A crucial point is the invisibility of these orphans. Although feminicide has registered more than 10,655 victims in Brazil between 2015 and 2023, there are no official statistics on the number of children left behind. Projections indicate that thousands of children and adolescents are orphaned every year, becoming part of a minority group, unprotected and with their human dignity violated. The research contrasts the Special Pension Law with Bill No. 1185/2022, which proposes the National Policy for the Protection and Comprehensive Care of Orphans of Femicide. This bill is seen as a much more comprehensive measure, aiming at comprehensive protection, the guarantee of specific rights (including protection against revictimization), the intersectoral integration of protection networks and, fundamentally, specialized psychosocial care. The approval of this bill is extremely urgent, given the time it takes to process and the continuous increase in cases of femicide. The vulnerability of these orphans is analyzed from the perspective of social justice. They are victims not only of crime, but also of the criminal justice
system – when exposed to the aggressor – and of social and state neglect. The loss of a mother disrupts the family, and the lack of adequate public policies exacerbates this inequality. Quoting Nancy Fraser, the article argues that redressing injustice requires a "policy of recognition" and "redistribution", allowing these individuals to achieve "parity of participation" in society. In conclusion, the paper points out the neglect of the Government in relation to the orphans of feminicide, in contrast with the advances in the protection of women victims of violence.A strong appeal is made for the National Policy Bill to be given priority processing, guaranteeing these children and adolescents the full protection, dignity and social justice they are entitled to, and going beyond mere financial assistance to truly transformative support.