Facade of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) building — Photo: Luiz Roberto/TSE
The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has registered 177 cases of gender-based political violence to date. The data relates to cases registered in 2026 – the episodes did not necessarily occur this year – and were presented this Tuesday (22) at an Electoral Court event, along with the launch of initiatives to combat this type of crime.
🔎Gender political violence is any action to prevent, hinder, devalue or nullify the political rights of women candidates or those already in political positions. Among the actions that can be included in this crime are threats, harassment, embarrassment, discrimination, humiliation and persecution, in addition to all forms of violence provided for in the Maria da Penha Law. The penalty can be up to 4 years in prison, in addition to a fine.
The Electoral Court launched a panel that brings together data from:
processes in progress in the Electoral Court;
complaints registered with the Federal Public Ministry (MPF).
The president of the TSE, minister Kassio Nunes Marques, recalled, however, that data on violence against women suffers from underreporting.
"We know that these numbers do not necessarily represent the whole reality. Many women still do not recognize that they are being victims of political violence. Many do not know that certain behaviors constitute a crime. Others, despite knowing, remain silent in the face of fear, pressure or the power structure they face. That is why information is also protection", said Nunes Marques.
Concentration in the Southeast
Of the 177 cases created in 2026 about political gender violence, 63 are in the Southeast region of Brazil, and 29 are in the state of São Paulo. The second region with the most records of violence is the South, with 37 cases. The Northeast comes close behind, with 36.
In addition to the 177 cases registered in 2026, the MPF also has 34 cases registered in 2026. During the presentation of the data, the TSE launched the Joint Action Protocol between the TSE and the Electoral Attorney General's Office (PGE) for the prevention of political gender violence.
During the event, the coordinator of the TSE Women Commission, Renata Gil, recalled the political murder of councilor Marielle Franco. According to her, members of the Marielle Institute reported to her that the former councilor's name continues to be used for gender-based political violence.
Mural in honor of councilor Marielle Franco on Avenida 9 de Julho, in the center of São Paulo — Photo: GABRIEL SILVA/ATO PRESS/ESTADÃO CONTEÚDO
“The violence has not yet ended,” said Gil. "On social media, Marielle is still mentioned and serves as an affront to other political candidates: 'Look, Marielle died. It's good for you to see what will happen to you'."
TSE minister Estela Aranha argued that even though acts of violence initially appear individual, the damage is collective.
"Because when other women see this happen, they say, 'Why am I going into politics? This place isn't for me.' You take out the [women] who are in, the ones who are trying, and the ones who could get in, or would consider getting in. And this is very serious, because democracy obviously presupposes the political participation of all citizens who want to participate in the debate", stated the minister.
Women represent 35% of candidacies in the 2026 elections. There are 7,364 candidates, in a total of 20.9 thousand candidacies, including vacancies for the Presidency, state governments, the Senate, the Chamber of Deputies and the state Legislative Assemblies.
Deepfakes
The TSE also launched this Tuesday (22) the Likeness ID tool to identify deepfake content on YouTube.
🔎Deepfake, according to the TSE's characterization, includes content produced or manipulated by artificial intelligence that simulates reality, creating, reproducing or altering the image or voice of a person, whether living, dead or fictitious. The electoral court prohibits the use of deepfakes in electoral advertisements.
The tool is a partnership with Google to identify and combat videos that irregularly use the image of candidates during the electoral period.
