Brazil election: Lula and Bolsonaro court women voters on safety

With days to go before Brazil's October 4 presidential vote, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are both courting women voters with promises to curb gender-based violence, which has become a major campaign issue as attacks on women hit record levels. Women make up 53 per cent of the electorate and were decisive in Lula's narrow 2022 win over Bolsonaro's father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Polls show Lula with a narrow lead over Senator Bolsonaro, though neither is expected to win outright, making a run-off likely. During a recent campaign stop, Bolsonaro held an oversized knife onstage and promised chemical castration for "rapists and child abusers", while Lula told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week: "We're building a Brazil () free of femicide, where no woman, inside or outside the home, lives under the threat of violence. This is a cause that the entire world needs to embrace."

According to a 2025 report by the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety, more than one in three women in Brazil faced sexual or gender-based violence over the course of a year, the highest figure since such tracking began in 2017. The forum also said 1,571 women were victims of femicide in 2025, the highest annual total since Brazil defined the crime in law in 2015. It defines femicide as the killing of a woman in a domestic setting or out of contempt for women. Several cases over the past year have drawn widespread condemnation, including the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Copacabana, the death of a woman after her former boyfriend ran her over, trapped her beneath his car and dragged her for one kilometre, and the alleged killing of a military police officer by her husband, who is also in the force.

Along with chemical castration, Senator Bolsonaro has proposed expanding spaces that shelter victims of violence and creating an AI assistant so victims can file reports, seek protective orders and receive guidance and support. Lula has promised to widen protections introduced during his administration, especially at the end of last year after a series of cases triggered demonstrations. Those measures include real-time monitoring of perpetrators of violence who wear electronic ankle bracelets. Both candidates have also backed tougher penalties for crimes involving violence against women, though such steps would need Parliament's approval.

Women's groups say they want firm guarantees that campaign promises will be carried through. Rachel Ripani, co-founder of Levante Mulheres Vivas, or Rise Alive Women, said: "Women are starting to have a perception of their role in elections. They're seeing their vote as something that they don't want to be manipulated." Feminist groups are asking candidates to sign a letter pledging to make gender-based violence a priority and to back a bill that seeks to criminalise misogyny. They are also carrying out surveys to identify priorities, highlighting female candidacies on websites and pushing a shared legislative agenda.

Carmen Silva, a 61-year-old feminist from Recife, said her group, Forum of Women of Pernambuco, has two priorities this year: defending the limited right to abortion and securing a pledge to tackle gender-based violence through a broader approach that includes education programmes. "Of course it's easier to get commitments during the electoral period, but when women candidates are elected, we will cash in on those demands," she said. "It's not only about guaranteeing that women aren't assassinated, but about giving them the possibilities of living a dignified life."

Experts say part of the problem is a lack of funding to put protective measures in place and enforce laws that already exist. That argument has also been made by feminist candidates such as Luciana Boiteux, who is contesting a seat in Rio's state legislature. "We have enough laws. As lawmakers, we will be vigilant with regards to the execution of these public policies," Boiteux said at a recent campaign event in front of Rio de Janeiro State University.

Calls for greater political representation for women have also cut across party lines. Despite women's electoral strength, only about 19 per cent of lawmakers and senators in Brazil are women, and a study by the Esfera Institute says the country has the lowest level of female political representation in Latin America. Political scientist Marlise Miriam de Matos Almeida of the Federal University of Minas Gerais said: "Women have a long history of social mobilization in Brazil, but lately it became clear to these movements that the state matters and that they need to dispute that power." She added: "Feminist movements have understood that it's necessary to organise the female vote and mobilize forces to transform this quantitative power into something that allows more women to be elected."

Matos Almeida said the assassination of local councillor Marielle Franco had inspired some Black women to run for office, but political violence and a lack of resources continued to limit women's participation in politics. The Chamber of Deputies says the number of female candidates for Brazil's lower house fell by 24 per cent in 2026 compared with 2022. Ripani said her movement is prepared to work across party lines if candidates and elected representatives support its agenda. "The priority for this election is voting for more women who fight for women," she said. "We need to vote for people who understand our experience."

As the campaign enters its final stage, both Lula and Senator Bolsonaro are trying to win over women voters with promises on safety, while activists press for commitments on violence, representation and rights that they say must continue beyond election season.