Geledés – Instituto da Mulher Negra
- Location
- São Paulo
- Backed in
- 2002
- Covered areas
- Human Rights and Civic Engagement
Promotoras Legais Populares
The Institute focuses its work on securing, protecting and expanding the rights of Afro-Brazilian women. Through the Popular Public Defenders project they trained women leaders from poor communities of Sao Paulo in basic legal knowledge so that they could defend their rights as citizens. Project participants have become “popular public defendants”, providing legal assistance to people in the communities where they live.
Access to lawyers was virtually nonexistent in these communities on the periphery, where most people don’t know their rights. The support of BrazilFoundation contributed to the formation of new popular public defendants. In addition to classes on theory and practice, the program included talks with law professionals and visits to different government agencies.