Hatred and Women’s Freedom of Expression
摘要
In this chapter, the focus shifts to speech: how organised masculinist ecosystems (the machosfera/manosphere) target women’s expression and how law responds. Anchored in the long-running attacks against feminist writer and professor Lola Aronovich, this chapter examines the Lola Law (2018), which assigns the Federal Police competence to investigate online crimes involving misogyny, and situates it within broader debates on Brazilian hate speech law. It interrogates whether “women” qualify as a protected minority in hate speech frameworks and analyses the frictions with freedom of expression, including retaliatory suits and SLAPP-like tactics used to silence women critics. This chapter also brings stalking into view—often the connective tissue between online and offline intimidation—through the Anti-Stalking Law (2021) and its application. Finally, it links the monetised incentive structures of platforms to far-right politics and misogynistic attention economies, arguing for platform accountability alongside safeguards for legitimate criticism and women’s participation in public debate.