Vitoria , Brazil ( CNN ) -- Jaina Maria never enters the studio in the pretty second-floor apartment she used to share with her husband . Behind the door , which she now keeps locked , is the room where she says her husband beat her , time and time again . It still bears the scars of violence . `` He grabbed me by the hair and slammed me into the mirror , '' she says . A big chunk of glass is missing . Jaina Maria says they were married for six years before the violence started , but then it dragged on for four more years . At first she was silent . `` He was the love of my life . I loved him so much , '' she explains as her eyes fill with tears . `` But then you get beaten again and again . '' Jaina Maria is one of nearly 40 women in the coastal Brazilian city of Vitoria who have been given an innovative mobile `` panic button '' -- part of a pilot project to curb rampant domestic violence . Even after they divorced and Jaina Maria obtained a restraining order , she says her ex-husband would still show up at the house and threaten her . One day he pulled out a knife . After that incident , a court decided to issue her with the panic button . When activated the device emits a GPS signal and automatically starts recording the conversations around the victim -- which can later be used in court . Soon after she got it , Jaina Maria was forced to use it . One day her ex-husband appeared , shouting at her , from the street below her apartment . `` The police arrived in four minutes , '' she says . Restraining order . Her ex-husband was sentenced to 21 days in jail for violating the restraining order . He has n't been back since . The authorities say there have already been five convictions thanks to the panic button project , which was launched by the state judicial system earlier this year . It 's no accident the project was developed in Vitoria -- the city has the highest female murder rate in Brazil . `` Femicides '' are overwhelmingly committed inside a woman 's own home , and police and social services say , they are an indicator of wider levels of domestic abuse . According to the Brazilian Center for Latin American Studies , in 2010 13.2 in every 100,000 women were murdered in Vitoria , triple the national average of 4.4 , which is already high . The Center 's figure for the United States is 2.1 women in every 100,000 , as of 2007 . The panic buttons have been distributed to women who already have restraining orders against abusers -- mostly former partners . According to court officials , the project has also worked as a deterrent for would-be abusers because no one knows who actually has them . The device itself is smaller than a mobile phone . Women carry it on an elastic belt under their clothes . When the victim activates it , by holding down a small button for three seconds , a GPS signal is sent and an alarm goes off at the police station handling the panic button project . The alert is then sent to the smartphones of four teams trained to respond . The victim 's location appears on a map , as pictures of the victim and her abuser pop up and the device begins to transit audio so police can hear what 's going on around her . Constant fear . So far , officials say , they 've arrived in under 10 minutes every time . `` We want to get there as quickly as we can because this person is the target of serious violence , '' says officer Jadir Almeida da Silva . The project has already caught the attention of officials across Brazil and in neighboring Latin American countries also battling high levels of domestic abuse . The United Nations has also praised the project and invited Vitoria 's mayor to give a presentation in New York . Experts say the panic button works on many levels . Dr. Sonia Lyra is a gynecologist who specializes in female trauma at the Jayme Santos Neves hospital . She was also a victim of domestic abuse , brutally beaten , she says , by her ex-husband for nine years . `` There were times when I would stay in bed for 10 , 15 days , '' she says . `` I had to reschedule all my patients until the marks on my body disappeared . '' She says the panic button not only helps stop violence before it happens , but it also gives women the security they need to rebuild their lives . Lyra says her divorce dragged on for years and she was n't able to keep her ex-husband away until she saved enough money to hire a criminal lawyer . `` If I 'd had the panic button , I would have re-established myself faster without the constant fear that he could hurt me or my children , '' she says . For Jaina Maria , it has meant she now has the confidence to leave her home : She now takes her dog for walks and is even starting a new job .
Brazilian victims of domestic violence given mobile 'panic button ' in pilot project . Score: 6 Jaina Maria used panic button when her husband attacked her ; he was later jailed . Vitoria , city where pilot scheme is taking place , has Brazil 's highest female murder rate .