A prominent figure in the Melqui Galvão abuse case has come forward publicly to describe the pressure she faced when she considered reporting her abuser, revealing that the resistance came from both a celebrated female athlete and her male partner.
Lívia Barasine, identified as the primary complainant in the growing case against the Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, posted an emotional video to her social media platforms on Thursday, detailing a sequence of events that left her questioning whether anyone in her circle would truly stand by her.
“It was one of the hardest battles I have ever won in my entire career, which was reporting my abuser,” Lívia said in her statement. “I needed to find strength where I imagined it did not even exist inside me.”
But finding that strength was far from straightforward. Before reaching the point of formally coming forward, Lívia says she found herself in Las Vegas, where she had been invited by Ana Rodrigues, a well-known Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete recognized within the community for publicly championing women’s rights and speaking out against harassment and abuse.
“I trusted a woman who publicly claims to be the protector of women, who is against harassment, against abuse,” Lívia said. “She invited me to go to Las Vegas to help her with the preparation for FCBJJ.”
The invitation initially filled Lívia with hope.
“After that invitation, I thought I had finally found someone who would protect me, who would encourage me,” she recalled.
Instead, Lívia says the encounter in Las Vegas took a deeply different turn. She shared the full details of what had happened to her, only to find that neither Ana Rodrigues nor Ana’s boyfriend, Diego Sodré, responded with the support she had anticipated.
“In Las Vegas I told everything that happened, how it was, where we were, everything about what occurred,” Lívia said. “I thought I had finally found someone who would help me, someone who would encourage me to report my abuser.”
According to Lívia, both Ana and Diego repeatedly urged her to stay silent and return to the academy run by her abuser.
“They insisted a lot that I not report and that I return to my abuser’s gym,” she said. “They tried every way possible, they talked about events I could compete in if I did not report.”
Lívia said she eventually came to understand what was actually happening.
“Today I understand that that was not an invitation to help or welcome me,” she said. “They were trying to silence me, in every way possible.”
The experience left Lívia in a deeply isolated state, stripped of the sense of safety she had built within the sport.
“I felt that I had lost my training place, the place where I felt safe to train, my emotional safety,” she said.
She also revealed that she never returned to that academy after the incident and came close to walking away entirely.
“I even thought about stopping training jiu-jitsu, about giving up on my dreams,” she added.
The public denunciation of Ana Rodrigues carries particular weight given that Ana is widely regarded as a vocal advocate for female athletes within the jiu-jitsu world.
According to sources, the Melqui Galvão case has expanded considerably since it first became public. The number of people who have come forward now stands at 11, according to an announcement made by State Deputy Alessandra Campelo during a public act against SA in sport, held on Sunday, May 17th.
The allegations span SA, threats, blackmail, and psychological abuse, with reports indicating that certain cases began when those involved were between the ages of 12 and 17. The proceedings are currently under judicial secrecy in both São Paulo and Manaus, while Galvão remains in temporary detention as the investigation continues.
She closed her statement with a direct message to anyone else who may have been targeted by Galvão.
“Seek the authorities, speak up, report, but never stay silent,” she said. “We will not be silenced.”
