RIO DE JANEIRO – Tens of thousands of women in cities across Brazil rallied against gender-based violence Sunday as a record number of female victims and a series of recent high-profile cases have shocked the country. Women of all ages and some men took to the streets in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities, calling for an end to femicide, rape and misogyny and for men to join them in their struggle. Alline de Souza Pedrotti’s sister, who was an administrative worker in a school in Rio de Janeiro, was killed on Nov. 28 by a male colleague along with another employee. Pedrotti, who was at the demonstration on the boardwalk in Copacabana, said the person who killed her sister didn’t accept having female bosses. “I’m devastated,” she told The Associated Press. “But I’m fighting through the pain and I won’t stop. I want changes in the legislation and new protocols to prevent this kind of crime from happening again.” In another shocking case, Taynara Souza Santos was run over by her ex-boyfriend and trapped by car, which dragged her over concrete for one kilometer (0.6 mile). The 31-year-old’s injuries were so severe her legs were amputated. Video footage of the Nov. 28 incident in Sao Paulo went viral. And on Nov. 21, in the southern city of Florianopolis, English teacher Catarina Kasten was raped and strangled to death on a trail next to a beach on her way to a swimming lesson. – Women raise their voices…Read more