"In Rio de Janeiro, eight out of ten homicides are committed with a firearm. Gun violence is a male disease: for every girl/woman that dies from firearms, 24 boys/men die. And behind every gun violence victim is a woman's suffering, whether she be a mother, wife, sister, grandmother or partner. Women are secondary victims of gun violence. For these reasons, Viva Rio has united female artists, police officers, journalists, writers, film-makers, mothers and relatives of victims to lead the campaign, to mobilize women from all over the country and all walks of life to say "No!" to guns."

"No Guns. It’s the gun or me!" Viva Rio

"I work on a women’s campaign for disarmament called "Arma Não! Ela ou Eu" (''No guns! Either it goes or I go”), so I have a lot of contact with mothers who are victims of armed violence. The most gratifying is to see there are people who believe they can really change things, and who work to produce the needed changes. I have seen many gun destruction rallies – such as the one Viva Rio promoted June 24th, when 100 thousand guns were destroyed (steamrolled) at Aterro. This makes me very happy, because I know that each gun destroyed is one gun less to kill somebody."

Jessica Galeria, works for Viva Rio a non-governmental organization that seeks practical solutions for the city’s problems, such as the high crime rate and disregard for environment.