--- description: Brazilian lawmaker tells congresswoman she's "not worthy" of sexual assault title: Brazilian Politician Tells Congresswoman She's 'Not Worthy' of Sexual Assault image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt308f5d4b9d32fa81/69876e5d0b72e37c976dc90e/jair-bolsonaro.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [brazil](/tag/brazil/) ## brazil Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Brazilian Politician Tells Congresswoman She's 'Not Worthy' of Sexual Assault  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 12, 2014 2:11 AM CUT  Brazilian Congressman Jair Bolsonaro seen in 2011 Brazilian Congressman Jair Bolsonaro seen in 2011Rogério Tomaz Jr./CDHM—Flickr Creative Commons  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 12, 2014 2:11 AM CUT A Brazilian Congressman [apparently](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/jair-bolsonaro-rape%5Fn%5F6310460.html "undefined") told a female colleague who had allegedly called him a rapist that he wouldn’t sexually assault her but because she’s “not worthy” of it. Representative Jair Bolsonaro reportedly made the comments on the floor of the national legislature Tuesday after lawmaker Maria do Rosário gave a speech condemning the human rights abuses of the U.S.-backed military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985, a regime Bolsonaro defends, according to a translation from the Huffington Post. “Stay here, Maria do Rosário. A few days ago you called me a rapist, in the Green Room,” he said. “And I said I wouldn’t rape you because you’re not worthy of it.” The Green Room is a private room in the capitol building. “I was attacked as a woman, as a Congress member, as a mother,” do Rosário [told](http://g1.globo.com/rs/rio-grande-do-sul/noticia/2014/12/maria-do-rosario-desabafa-e-diz-que-vai-processar-bolsonaro-apos-ofensas.html "undefined") the Brazilian news agency O Globo. “When I go home, I have to explain this to my daughter… I’m going to press criminal charges against him.” \[[_Huffington Post_](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/jair-bolsonaro-rape%5Fn%5F6310460.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3630922/brazil-politics-congresswoman-rape-comments/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3630922/brazil-politics-congresswoman-rape-comments/"},"headline":"Brazilian Politician Tells Congresswoman She's 'Not Worthy' of Sexual Assault","datePublished":"2014-12-12T02:11:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:27.662Z","description":"He said it on the floor of the legislature","url":"https://time.com/3630922/brazil-politics-congresswoman-rape-comments/","keywords":["brazil","Living","Congress","Rape","Sexual Assault","politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt308f5d4b9d32fa81/69876e5d0b72e37c976dc90e/jair-bolsonaro.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt308f5d4b9d32fa81/69876e5d0b72e37c976dc90e/jair-bolsonaro.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"jair-bolsonaro","caption":"Brazilian Congressman Jair Bolsonaro seen in 2011","creditText":"Rogério Tomaz Jr./CDHM—Flickr Creative Commons","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/brazil/","name":"brazil"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3630922/brazil-politics-congresswoman-rape-comments/","name":"Brazilian Politician Tells Congresswoman She's 'Not Worthy' of Sexual Assault"}}]}] ```