(CNN) -- Brazilian public notary Claudia do
Nascimento Domingues set off a firestorm by granting Brazil's first
civil union to a trio, an act so unprecedented that there isn't a word
for it in Portuguese.
Uniao poliafetiva is the label she created. "Polyfidelitous union" is her best guess in English.
The relationship involves
three professionals in their 30s -- one man and two women -- who, she
says, live together, love one another as equals and are like any other
non-married cohabiting couple -- except they are three.
What Domingues did was
legally register the trio as a "stable union," a civil union that
extends all of the benefits of marriage, though there is debate about
what rights the threesome will actually enjoy. In short, it recognizes
the trio as a family entity for public legal purposes.
Domingues has not released the identities of the three.
But not all are embracing the unique alliance.
"This union is void of
any legality," said Regina Beatriz Tavares da Silva, head of the family
law committee of a lawyers' association in Sao Paulo.
Brazilian law defines
marriage as a union between two people, so it is impossible for a civil
union of three to be granted the rights of a marriage of two.
"It goes directly against
the constitution," da Silva said. "Monogamy is defined as relations
between two, not three or four or five."
The first-of-its-kind
civil union has led to an outcry from religious groups, too. Those who
fear the "slipperly slope" feel the ground moving underneath their feet.
"The institution of
family cannot be defended with the approval of actions that seek to
distort its definition," the religious, conservative Plinio Correa de
Oliveira Institute said in a statement. "The purpose of this (union) is
not to build families, but to destroy them."
The controversial civil
union "is proof that there is a plurality of familiar relations, though
not all deserve judicial or legal standing," Rolf Madaleno, director of
the Brazilian Institute for Family Law, said in a statement. "The action
carried out does not provide protections and does not confer rights."
In his opinion, the
legal action in question does nothing more than reaffirm that the trio
in question believes that they are a trio.
Domingues, 39, argues
that they deserve some benefits. They live together in Rio de Janeiro,
they share a bank account, and they want protection in case of
separation or death, she said.
Brazil is known for its
progressive social policies and openness, as reflected in the status
conferred to the trio, though the country is stereotyped, too. While
Brazil appears to be a permissive place, it is also a a country where
more than 86% of the population identifies as Catholic or evangelical.
There was a similar
outcry when "stable unions" between same-sex couples were allowed for
the first time. The country's supreme court ruled that a gay couple in a
civil union had the same rights as a married heterosexual couple, but
there is debate about whether such rights can be extended to a trio.
But to Domingues, a
public notary in the city of Tupa in Sao Paulo state, there is nothing
preventing nontraditional relationships from being granted "stable
union" status.
The trio considers themselves a family and is entitled to be seen as such in the public record, Domingues said.
"By registering them, I
only confirmed that they recognize themselves as a family," she said. "I
don't confer rights to them. That is up to a judge to decide."
The civil union was actually granted three months ago, but news of it only spread this week.
Da Silva called the civil union "deceitful," a runaround to grant status to a polygamous relationship.
Such relationships aren't new; they just haven't been recognized, Domingues said.
She says that she simply
put her stamp of approval on a relationship that was surfing on a wave
of cultural currents, but it was no coincidence that the request landed
on her desk.
The trio from Rio,
having been rejected by other public notaries, found their way rural Sao
Paulo state and to Domingues because she is a student of polyfidelitous
relationships -- ones involving more than two partners, but where there
is fidelity between the members.
Formerly an IT manager, Domingues now is a doctoral student at the University of Sao Paulo, studying family law.
Her dissertation, she
said, is about "how you can love more than one person at the same time."
Her research looks at cultures, places, sociology, anthropology,
religion and the history of family and intimate relationships in Brazil.
Through mutual friends,
the trio found Domingues and traveled more than 600 miles from Rio, into
the interior of Sao Paulo state, to Tupa.
Domingues doesn't
hesitate to call herself married, though she and her husband are bound
by a "stable union" and not a civil marriage. Her husband works with her
as a deputy public notary.
"We have had all the reactions you can imagine," she said.
Other polyfidelitous groups have reached out to her seeking the same civil union status.
Domingues is studying the cases of a quintet (two men and three women) and another trio (one woman and two men).
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