1. CFEMEA is a Brazilian nonprofit that advocates for women's rights and combats domestic violence. 2. The author interviewed CFEMEA representatives to assess how well they adhere to five ideal characteristics of effective advocacy organizations. 3. While CFEMEA may not perfectly embody all five characteristics, the author concludes they are effective because they prioritize the two characteristics mostly within their control - cohesive goals and self-generation.

1. RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012
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Beginning with the re-democratization of Brazil occurring
in 1986, social movements and civic engagement have
become increasingly effective forms of influence for
advocacy groups in the country. The feminist movement has
been growing since the 1980’s and 90’s in Brazil, and this
gradual transformation has allowed Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) focusing on women rights to establish
themselves throughout Brazil.
The Centro Feminista de Estudos e Assessoria (CFEMEA), a
non-profit organization that was founded in 1989, has
developed a strong reputation over the past two decades as
a leader in combating domestic violence against women in
Brazil. According to Larry Diamond and a variety of other
scholars, in order for civic organizations like CFEMEA to be
successful, the group must prioritize ideal characteristics
that guide advocacy efforts. These can be understood as
Five Ideal Characteristics that include cohesive goals, self-
generation, density, autonomy, and pluralism.
In the summer of 2012, I conducted a series of interviews
with CFEMEA representatives in order to assess how well
CFEMEA adheres to these Five Ideal Characteristics. I
ultimately found that an organization does not have to be
perfect in order to effectively advocate for a cause but
instead, must continually seek opportunities to improve
characteristics of their advocacy that inhibit them from
reaching their full potential as a civic group.
Introduction
Outline
Drawing on research conducted in Brasília, Brazil, in June-
July of 2012, I seek to evaluate the extent to which CFEMEA
adheres to, and diverges from, the Five Ideal Characteristics
of civil society. Data has been drawn from individual
interviews, which were conducted primarily in Portuguese.
Dr. Mariano Magalhães set up a majority of the interviews
and acted as the primary translator.
The interviewees included current CFEMEA
representatives, previous CFEMEA employees now working in
the government and at the University of Brasília (UnB), and
representatives from other progressive governmental
organizations advocating for women’s rights. All interviews
were recorded and then transcribed in Portuguese by Tayrine
Santos, a student and colleague from UnB .
These interviews were then used to evaluate CFEMEA as
a case study through the lens of the Five Ideal
Characteristics of civil society. This was done to evaluate
how crucial each characteristic is to an organization’s
advocacy efforts.
Methods
CFEMEA is effective because they have identified the
characteristics within their immediate control and they
prioritize these.
1. Cohesive Goals- internally controlled
-all organizations must establish and maintain
2. Self-generating- internally controlled
-all organizations must establish and maintain to be
successful.
The last three characteristics, while important to an
organization’s success, are frequently outside of group’s
immediate control.
3. Density- externally dependent
-lack resources, cyclical membership
4. Autonomy- externally dependent
-external agendas, financial dependency
5. Pluralism- externally dependent
-external agendas, extremist attitudes
Though CFEMEA may never perfectly embody these five
ideal characteristics, they do effectively identify the
challenges that come with the externally dependent
characteristics. I conclude that perfection is not the
requirement for lasting or effective reform to take place.
Ultimately, while all five characteristics described in this
paper are important for civic groups to prioritize in their
organizational structure and advocacy, the importance of the
first two characteristics are weighted more heavily in an
organization’s ultimate success.
Findings
The Feminist Center for Studies
and Advisory Services
CFEMEA’s Mission:
“To contribute to the strengthening of
democracy and feminism focusing on public
authorities to guarantee women's rights”
(CFEMEA, n.d).
References
Diamond, L. (1999). Developing democracy: Toward consolidation.
Baltimore, Maryland: The John
Hopkins University Press.
Haerpfer, C. W., Bernhagen, P., Inglehart, R. F., & Welzel, C. (2009).
Democratization. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press.
Kingstone, P.R., & Power, T.J. (2000). Democratic brazil: Actors,
institutions, and processes. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh
Press
Narayan, U. (1997). Dislocating cultures/Identities, traditions, and
third-wave feminism. New York, NY: Routledge.
The Five Ideal Characteristics of a Successful
Advocacy Organization:
1. Cohesive Goals: that are realistic and representative of
that group’s core values.
2. Self-generating: the members are genuine advocates of
the organization’s mission and meet a real need in society.
3. Density: the ability to have members and external
relationships that encourage varied perspectives and
external networks/outreach.
4. Autonomy: the ability to remain financially and
ideologically independent from external influences.
5. Pluralism: the ability to develop and maintain strong
relationships with all groups influencing their advocacy
efforts.
Political Science, Augustana College
Rachel
Lenke
Domestic Violence in Brazil: Challenges Facing NGOs and CFEMEA
Hypothesis
I hypothesize that advocacy organizations must
deliberately prioritize the Five Ideal
Characteristics of civil society in order to be
strong and effective advocators.
Rachel
Lenke
is
an
Undergraduate
student
at
Augustana
College
in
Rock
Island
IL.
She
is
majoring
in
Poli/cal
Science
and
Communica/on
Studies,
gradua/ng
in
May
2013.
Adapted
from
Larry
Diamonds
ideal
characteris/cs
in
Developing
democracy:
Toward
consolida5on
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