Brazilian Man Accused of High Profile Revenge-Porn Case Only Gets 5 Months Community Service · Global Voices
Taisa Sganzerla

Image by Flickr user Moyan Brenn. CC.BY – 2.0
A year ago Brazilian university student Fran let her then boyfriend Sérgio Henrique Alves make a video with his phone while she performed oral sex on him. He proceeded to spread the video through Whatsapp. After memes humiliating 22 year-old Fran popped up all across the Brazilian internet, the case was taken to court.
This week, a verdict was finally reached. Sérgio was sentenced to 5 months of community service. As Brazil does not have a law for revenge-porn, Sérgio was prosecuted on the basis of libel and defamation.
The trial left Fran devastated. After having her life turned upside down – she lost her job at a retail store and had to stop attending university – she believes the sentence was disproportionate to the damage she and her family suffered. She told the TV news station Globo that Sérgio left court “laughing at her face”. Yesterday, she posted a testimony on Facebook page “Apoio Fran” [Supporting Fran] and urged people to help pressure the Congress to approve a law that tackles revenge-porn specifically
Oi gente! Queria agradecer de coração pelo apoio, que sempre foi fundamental para mim, e falar que a nossa luta não terminou. Desde o início, eu sabia que não ia dar em nada, infelizmente. Mas a esperança é sempre a última que morre e eu continuei por saber que várias mulheres passam e vão passar por isso. Eu vou lutar por uma lei que proteja essas vítimas, para que a pena seja proporcional ao dano causado.
Vocês serão fundamentais para que isso aconteça! Mais do que nunca preciso de vocês ao meu lado! A lei Maria da Penha Virtual precisa existir ou até a lei Fran Santos, e eu prometo que eu não vou desistir!
A lei pode ser criada se houver 1% de assinaturas do eleitorado nacional. Nós temos a constituição do nosso lado! Mas para isso precisamos de no mínimo 1,36 milhão de assinaturas e um deputado que nos ajude. Onde estão aqueles deputados que tanto disseram que iriam me ajudar ?
De um jeito ou de outros nós vamos conseguir isso. Pode demorar, mas vamos conseguir!
Hi, guys! I wanted to thank everyone from all my heart for all the support, which was so important to me, and also to say that our struggle isn't over. Since the beginning I knew nothing was going to happen to him. But hope dies last and I held on because I know many women might go through the same as I did. I will fight for a law that can protect those victims and that the punishment to the perpetrators are fit to the damage made. You guys are vital for this to happen! More than ever I need you by my side. We need an internet version of Maria da Penha Law [law against domestic violence], or maybe even a “Fran Santos Law” and I promise I won't give up! The law could be created if we had 1% of the national population in signatures, which is 1,36 million. We have the Constitution by our side! But we also need a legislator to help us. Where are those deputies who said they would help me? One way or another, we'll do this. It might take long, but we can do it.
Image from the Facebook page Apoio Fran. “Because we are all Fran, against sexism as a form of comedy and sex as a taboo.”
Fran has created a public petition on the Petição Pública website for the creation of a new law. At the moment the petition has 1220 signatures. She also says she will sue her offender (now that the criminal prosecution is over) for moral and material damages, since she hasn't been able to find another job ever since the incident last year. She told the news website G1:
“Já até procurei emprego em outros lugares. Mas quando olham meu currículo, veem meu nome e onde eu trabalhei, se lembram do que aconteceu e não chamam.
I have looked for jobs in other places. But when they look at my CV, when they see my name and where I used to work, they remember what has happened and don't call me back.
Ex-footballer and now re-elected senator Romário has proposed a law project that makes the improper spreading of intimate material a specific criminal offense. According to the project, perpetrators could face up to three years in jail and be obliged to compensate the victim in any material damages resulting from moving houses, losing a job and any medical or psychological treatments they might need to go through.