'I felt the hand of the government in my womb': Black women, state violence, and intimacy in Brazil

Discussions surrounding violence against women in Brazil have focused primarily on domestic violence. As the intimate nature of domestic violence became part of public debate, the state became obliged to intervene and protect women from violence in the domestic context. However, there are important implications to consider. While violence in the intimate sphere is part of the public discourse, it only includes violence perpetrated by a partner, or family member. This has resulted in the silencing of other manifestations of intimate violence, particularly those perpetrated by state actors and institutions. Furthermore, as state intervention is framed as a solution to ending gender violence on the one hand, many scholars have shown the violent repercussions of state intervention particularly in black, poor, communities.  Recognizing that experiences with violence are intersectional, the nature and extent of state violence, particularly towards black women, has been eliminated by narrow conceptual definitions of intimate violence, which ultimately dichotomize the issue of intimate violence from state violence. This paper addresses this false dichotomy by conceptualizing state violence against black women as intimate. Specifically, I look at how women described their experiences with state violence using the language of intimacy: family, home, and body.  For example, when describing the loss of her son, Lucia said “ I felt the hand of the government in my womb.’ Either through direct physical assault, or through the loss of family members, the state has literally and figuratively entered black women’s families, homes, and bodies, thus perpetrating intimate violence.