As nation eyes misogyny crime, could Australia follow?
Australia is watching with interest as Brazil proposes a groundbreaking law that could send people to prison for misogyny.
Brazilian lawmakers are debating a proposal that would equate gender-based hatred with racism under existing anti-discrimination laws.
Australia continues to grapple with an epidemic of male-perpetrated violence as misogynistic abuse makes young women hesitant to become political candidates.
UNSW criminology lecturer Alex Fleck, who is Brazilian and works as a criminal lawyer there, said the anti-misogyny bill would make it illegal to “attack someone because of their status as a woman”.
He said he would be sentenced to two to five years in prison for serious crimes.
“The same penalty applies if you refuse service or refuse entry to a commercial establishment because of the condition of being a woman, and also if you refuse someone employment,” she told AAP.
In the coming weeks, Brazil’s lower house will vote on the law, which was passed unanimously by the Senate in March.
Brazil has one of the highest femicide rates, with 399 femicides in the first quarter of 2026.
While it was late to enact laws to prevent violence against women, leadership is now being taken.
The South American country created a separate crime for femicide in 2024 and increased the prison sentence, the maximum penalty under Brazilian law, from 20 to 40 years.
Dr Fleck said misogyny legislation was created by social movements and was a good example of the feminism movement learning from the anti-racist movement.
“There is a huge domestic violence problem in Brazil, as there is in Australia,” he said.
“This is a prime example of the feminist movement uniting and learning from, partnering with, and connecting with the anti-racist movement.
“This lesson in solidarity is the number one takeaway.”
Dr Fleck warned against importing one country’s model into another, but said Australia’s federal and state governments could do more.
Evidence shows young Australian women are wary of running for positions of power due to misogynistic abuse online.
Emily’s List Australia, a political network supporting progressive Labor women seeking to stand for election, has noticed this trend.
“When I talk to young women many say I want to do policy work or just work for an MP,” chief executive Pamela Anderson told AAP.
“It seems like many of them don’t want to be politicians because they see themselves being subjected to attacks on women online, which is a real concern.”
She said women in positions of power are increasingly subjected to “online attacks” and the abuse is worse for First Nations women, women of color and members of the LGBTQI community.
Brazil’s offer gave him “some hope” and he considered the issue in the Australian context.
“If another country is stepping in, I think that’s a good sign that maybe there could be a solution,” Ms. Anderson said.
“We’re trying to get social media companies to do something to stop this kind of behavior, but it won’t stop unless it’s against the law.”
In Australia, there are hate crime provisions under the Criminal Code Act that include sex and gender identity, but there are no federal gender-based hate speech laws and misogyny per se is not a criminal offence.
Ms Anderson said Emily’s List was working to remove bad comments about female MPs and candidates and report them to the police if necessary, but the problem was that Australian laws had not caught up with the truth.
“Under current law, unless there is a direct threat, there is nothing that can be done,” he said.
“Once there’s legislation to support that and people have something that can protect them and there are consequences for really bad behavior, I think that’s when you’ll see a change.”
