- Caroline Werner was arrested for going topless in public while walking her dogs in Balneário Camboriú, Brazil
- The businesswoman has questioned the fairness of Brazil's constitution, which allows men to bare their breasts in public while banning women from doing so
- Werner was fined for committing an obscene act and faces between three months and a year in prison or a fine if found guilty
A bikini model is questioning the fairness of Brazil's legal system after he was arrested for appearing topless in public.
Caroline Werner, 37, was handcuffed and taken to a local police station earlier this year when she was seen walking her dogs and baring her breasts across the street from a beach in the southern town of Balneário Camboriú.
The businesswoman who owns her bikini brand is now wondering whether the Brazilian constitution applies equally to women and men, as men are allowed to walk around in public with their chests bared, while women are banned from doing so.
“Although in my country gender equality is enshrined in the constitution, unfortunately this does not happen in practice,” Werner recently told the Brazilian news agency G1.
“I cannot have the same freedom and feel forced to by this system and the oppressive interpretation of the law.”
“What should be normal for both sexes is being denied to one of them in an arbitrary and repressive manner.”
Caroline Werner told Brazilian news agency G1 that the country's constitution does not apply equally to men and women after she was arrested and given a summons for going topless in public while walking her dogs nearby in May on a beach in the southern town of Balneario Camboriu
Werner, who owns her own bikini brand, claims police violated her due process rights by denying her access to a phone to call her family or lawyer
Caroline Werner took off her shirt and tied it around her waist while on a beach in Brazil before walking her dogs when she was stopped by Balneario Camboriu civil police
Werner admitted to appearing in public with her breasts exposed in other countries and is completely baffled that she got into trouble for it in the South American country.
She was on the beach and took off her shirt and tied it around her waist before she started walking her dogs.
“As I crossed the street to leave the dogs behind, I was approached by the city guard in a completely arbitrary and disproportionate manner,” said Werner. “They already arrived, put their hands behind my back and handcuffed me.”
The police officers provided Werner with a blouse to cover her breasts, took her to the police station and left her handcuffed to the “dark” metal bars of the prison cell.
Werner claimed police violated her due process rights by not allowing her to call her family or a lawyer.
“I spent more than an hour in this situation, unable to speak to anyone and despite asking for it, I was denied the right to speak to my lawyer several times,” she said.
Werner faces between three months and a year in prison or a fine if found guilty
If found guilty, she could face a prison sentence of three months to a year or a fine
Werner received a summons for an obscene act and was released after an hour.
Article 233 of the Penal Code describes the charge as “committing an obscene act in a public place, whether open or accessible to the public.”
However, the law does not define an “obscene act.”
If found guilty, she could face a prison sentence of three months to a year or a fine.
The case is being handled by the Santa Cantarina state prosecutor's office, which has offered her a plea deal.
Werner said the incident was blown out of proportion, particularly on social media where videos appeared showing her topless.
“What happened to me, society’s abuse of authority and judgment, shows how the interpretation of the law itself reflects the gender behavior dictated by the patriarchal, violent culture in relation to the control of women’s bodies,” she said.