A year before the the hashtag #MeuPrimeiroAssedio would go viral, black feminists began working across Brazil to organize women who don’t generally participate in activism. Their efforts culminated in the Black Women’s March Against Racism and Violence and in Favor of Living Well in Brasilia, the capital. There, 50,000 Afro-Brazilian women of all ages and backgrounds came together to denounce violence against black women – not just sexual violence but also deadly abortions, mass incarceration and medical neglect. It was the first ever national march of black Brazilian women.

“But I don’t have any fear,” said Débora Maria da Silva, one of the founders of Mães de Maio. “After all, I don’t have anything else to lose: My son was my greatest treasure.” Ms. Silva also says she doesn’t feel intimidated by the police because she is, indeed, an authority. Mothers have certainly occupied an authoritative position in Latin America since Iberian colonization.

“We recognize that violence in Brazil is not a phenomenon that strikes all sectors the same way, on the contrary, it's constructed as a social phenomenon based on gender and race, that is to say, from racism and patriarchy."

A recent spike in violence comes alongside massive unemployment, as Brazil begins to emerge from the worst recession in its history. But people have grown used to carrying out their daily lives against a permanent background of violence. And some young girls have found solace and an escape from their environment through football.

Ride-hailing apps for female drivers and passengers are not unique to Brazil. All-women ride hailing app See Jane Go launched in California in 2016, and rival Safr launched in Boston this year. Yet their rapid growth in cities such as Sao Paulo, Uber’s biggest market by rides, underscores rising concerns about public safety in Brazil and efforts to shield women from the discomfort and danger of a culture steeped in machismo.