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They are the work of the Patricia Galvao Institute, a non-governmental organisation based in Sao Paulo and devoted to raising public awareness about women's rights. The United Nations designated Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 1999. It was a date already commemorated throughout much of Latin America and in some other parts of the world, as the anniversary of the deaths of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic who were murdered on the orders of Dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961) on Nov. 25, 1961. Another of the newly launched commercials in Brazil features a group of men drinking beer in a bar. They are discussing the fact that one of the men hit his wife. ”I had too much to drink,” he says, in the attempt to justify his behaviour, but one of his friends argues back that the rest of them drink just as much, but they don't abuse their wives. The spot concludes with the message, ”Drinking is no excuse.” This new ad campaign is highly innovative because ”for the first time in Brazil, it is aimed directly at the male audience,” Jacira Melo, the co-director of the Patricia Galvao Institute, told IPS. Hoping that men will identify with the characters and situations shown, the makers stressed eminently ”manly” activities, like soccer, the national sport, and a group of friends gathered around a bar table littered with beer bottles. ”We have to work towards changing the attitudes of those who perpetrate the violence,” said Melo, who added that there have been many instances where domestic violence has been stopped through therapy for abusive husbands. Until now, campaigns of this kind have almost exclusively focused on women, the victims of violence, emphasising their plight and urging them to report their abuse. Now it is time to focus the messages on men, since they are the ones whose behaviour must change, noted Melo. In addition to the commercials, the Institute, named after feminist journalist and writer Patricia Galvao (1910-1962), also released a survey today on attitudes towards violence against women in Brazil. Of the 2002 people surveyed throughout the country, including both men and women, 30 percent said that violence inside and outside the home is the most serious problem suffered by Brazilian women today. In fact, violence against women was perceived as being of even greater concern than ovarian and breast cancer, which came next with 17 percent, and AIDS, ranked third with 10 percent. The survey revealed a much higher degree of condemnation for violence against women than the researchers had expected, noted Melo, adding that a full 91 percent of respondents said they considered gender-based violence a ”very serious” problem. When asked whether women should tolerate abuse for the sake of keeping their families together, 86 percent of the interviewees said no, while 82 percent agreed with the statement, ”There is no situation that justifies a man using violence against his spouse.” In terms of the factors that lead to domestic violence, 82 percent of respondents pointed to alcohol, and 63 percent mentioned jealousy. But alcohol is merely a trigger for an existing situation of violence, and is frequently used as an excuse to try to justify abuse, Melo said. In addition, it would be very difficult to curb alcohol consumption, given the high tolerance for drinking in Brazilian society, not to mention the vested interests of the large, powerful companies that produce alcoholic beverages. Moreover, in cities where restrictions were placed on sales of alcohol, it was reported that many people began to drink at home instead of in public places, and there were actually indications of an increase in domestic violence. In Melo's opinion, ongoing or periodic educational campaigns over the course of five or six years could significantly reduce rates of violence against women, since there is obviously a clear awareness of the problem in Brazilian society, according to the survey results. In Brazil, an estimated two million women are the victims of violence every year. This has led some to speak of a ”hidden war”, which is almost unilaterally waged by men against women. A number of initiatives have been undertaken by the Brazilian authorities to address the problem, including the establishment of police divisions that specialise in dealing with reports of abuse and shelters for women who are victims of domestic violence and have nowhere else to turn. According to Melo, however, there is an urgent need for more government initiatives like these, and an improvement of existing policies and programmes. Special emphasis should be placed on the health care system, she added, given that doctors and other hospital staff are not properly trained to deal with these cases, while studies indicate that 40 percent of women who seek medical treatment have been victims of physical or sexual violence, she said.