In mid-2008, through the then municipal secretary of Social Assistance and Violence Prevention of the Municipality of Nova Iguaçu, Luiz Eduardo Soares, Iser received, at the same time, an invitation and a challenge: to welcome and conduct the Education and Accountability for Men Perpetrating Domestic Violence (SerH). A pioneering initiative in that municipality with the National Secretariat for Public Security, represented by Cristina Villanova, SerH needed a new place to continue and expand its work. Although an action with men was, at that time, a novelty for Iser, SerH represented the reencounter with an important agenda already worked on by us in previous years: the fight against domestic violence against women.
Provided for in two articles of the Maria Penha Law (arts. 35 and 45), accountability services or (re)education groups for men who commit domestic violence against women have expanded in recent years. As can be seen in this publication, this does not mean, on the other hand, that there are no conflicts or even several doubts. There are still many questions, challenges and analyzes to be carried out. However, the intense debate portrayed by the book does not make us fearful or make us give up these actions, but, on the contrary, it reaffirms our bet and the belief that services such as SerH are successful practices in confronting domestic violence and the strong tendency to the incarceration present in the speeches, policies and practices of many operators of the Law.
