Brazil Fires Diplomat Accused of Assaulting Women

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RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian diplomat accused of assaulting women in the past was fired this week after neighbors heard a woman calling for help from his home in Brasília and summoned the police.

The diplomat, Renato Ávila Viana, had previously been accused of kicking and head-butting an ex-girlfriend in November 2016, knocking out a tooth. The episode prompted a group of female diplomats to raise the nearly $15,000 the woman needed for reconstructive surgery.

Violence against women is endemic in Brazil. A nationwide poll in 2017 found that one-third of women had been threatened or assaulted in the past year, often by a partner.

Brazilian women have launched several social media campaigns seeking to raise awareness about harassment and violence, but there has not been a widespread public reckoning of powerful men here.

While public servants in Brazil enjoy significant job security, several colleagues wondered why Brazil’s foreign ministry, known as Itamaraty, didn’t act sooner to oust Mr. Viana, who was fired on Wednesday.

The Association of Brazilian Diplomats said in a statement that it had expressed its concerns about Mr. Viana to the foreign ministry several times.

“Valuing and respecting women are fundamental values of this organization,” the group said in the statement. “We will be vigilant to demand that episodes of this nature are punished severely.”

A lawyer for Mr. Viana said she would meet with her client Friday afternoon and planned to issue a statement after conferring with him.

Brazil’s foreign minister said in public notice that Mr. Viana had been fired after disciplinary proceedings. An Itamaraty spokesman declined to respond to questions about the case.

Mr. Viana, 42, has been in the foreign service since the late 1990s and had served in Copenhagen and Caracas, among other postings.

According to news accounts, police officials responded to Mr. Viana’s apartment after a woman screamed for help from a window. A video posted on the G1 news site showed officers kicking in his door and taking the diplomat into custody.

In an emailed statement, police officials in Brasília said Mr. Viana had been charged with physical assault and domestic violence.

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