Brazilian bikini model Caroline Werner lashed out against the country’s laws after being arrested for apparently walking her dogs while topless.
Werner now faces up to a year in jail after she said she walked her dogs while topless near a Brazilian beach in May, and she’s challenging the country’s constitutional claims to gender equality. The model claims she was cuffed to the bars of her prison cell after being seized by the Municipal Guard in Balneário Camboriú, according to Brazilian news outlet, G1.
Üstsüz gezen ünlü model tutuklandı!: 37 yaşındaki model Caroline Werner, mayıs ayında Brezilya’nın Balneario Camboriu kentinde üstsüz bir şekilde köpeklerini gezmeye çıkardı.… https://t.co/zjTTWAuAAE #haber #gündem #sondakika #media #Sondurum #Eshaspor #magazin #breakingnews pic.twitter.com/kgAsQkNSoM
— EshaHaber (@HaberEsha) December 26, 2023
Werner is demanding answers after her experience, which is being cited as “an obscene act,” after she said she removed her shirt while on the beach, tied it to her waist and walked her dogs, according to G1.
“Unfortunately, in my country even though the Constitution ensures gender equality, in practice this does not happen,” she told G1.
“What should be natural for both genders ends up being denied to one of them in an arbitrary and repressive manner,” she said.
“When crossing the street to leave the dogs, I was approached by the Municipal Guard in a completely arbitrary and disproportionate way,” Werner told G1. “They arrived already putting my hands behind me and handcuffing me.”
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The police reportedly provided her with a blouse to cover up, before taking her to the police station and leaving her handcuffed in her “dark” prison cell.
Werner claimed her rights were further violated by allegedly being denied a call to her family or legal representative.
“I spent more than an hour in that situation, unable to speak to anyone and, even though I had asked for I was denied my right to speak to my lawyer several times,” she said, according to G1.
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The Public Ministry of Santa Catarina (MPSC) said Werner was offered a plea deal, but noted she did not attend a hearing for the matter, G1 reported. Werner’s lawyer, Henrique Quintanilha, said she did not attend because she was not notified of the date and time, according to G1.
The model faces a significant fine and up to one year in jail if she rejects the plea deal. (RELATED: ‘Take My Bra Off’: Cara Delevingne Defends Topless Tattoo Pic)
“What happened to me, the abuse of authority and judgment by society, demonstrate how the interpretation of the law itself reflects gender conduct dictated by patriarchal, violent culture, in relation to the control of female bodies,” Werner said.