Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president, has just signed a new law that seeks to set tough new penalties for the murder of women and girls.

From now on, any killing that is linked to domestic violence will come with sentences of between 12 and 30 years.

As reported by the BBC, Rousseff announced that the new law will send a clear message to women that the state will protect them, stating that 15 women are killed in Brazil on a daily basis.

The new law will demand even longer jail sentences if the murdered female is pregnant, has just given birth, is under 14, or is over the age of 60.

The new legislation has altered the criminal code, which now describe femicide as any crime that involves domestic violence, contempt, or a discrimination against women.

President Rousseff, since taking office, has enacted other laws aimed directly at women and girls.

In August 2013, Rousseff signed legislation that would require that all public hospitals provide treatment against sexually transmitted diseases for rape victims, while further requiring that any rape victims be given access to emergency contraception, and, in the case of pregnancy, that the victim's have the right to an abortion.

Brazil’s recent actions aimed at preventing femicide come on the heels of like-minded legislation reform introduced in other Latin American countries.

El Salvador, for instance, which has the highest murder rate for women in the world, has adopted similar laws.

Nadine Gasman, the Representative of U.N. Women in Brazil, has said that "the law identifies femicide as a specific phenomena. This kind of law is preventive in nature.”

The new law, known as the "Maria da Penha" law, pays tribute to a notable figure in the women's rights movement in Brazil.

Maria da Penha was beaten by her ex-husband for 14 years and was left as a paraplegic after the man she was once married to tried twice to murder her.