Violence against women in Brazil reaches highest levels on record

Brazil has recorded unprecedented levels of rape and other forms of gender-based violence for the second year running , amid growing concerns over rightwing efforts to criminalize rape victims who have an abortion.

The data, released on Thursday in the annual report by the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety, showed that reported cases of rape rose by 6.5% from the previous year to a new historic high of 83,988 – or one every six minutes.

Experts say the figures are “even more alarming” against a backdrop of far-right activism, which includes a bill currently before the lower house of Congress that seeks to penalize rape survivors who seek a termination.

Every single indicator of gender-based violence increased in 2023 compared with the previous year, including murder (0.8%), sexual harassment (48.7%) and stalking (34.5%).

In contrast, the total number of homicides (against men and women) fell for the sixth consecutive year, dropping 3.4% from 47,963 in 2022 to 46,328 last year.

One possible explanation for the continued increase in gender-based violence may be the lingering after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, said the forum’s executive director, Samira Bueno.

“Since 2021, the figures for violence against women have been increasing at an accelerated rate, and they’re much higher than in the pre-pandemic period,” she said.

“Brazil has always been a very violent country … but it seems that the pandemic changed something. The tensions that arose in the domestic environment potentially exacerbated all these forms of violence,” she said.

Many states do not record details of the racial background of rape victims, but the data where available suggested that at least 52% of them were black.

Children continued to be dramatically overrepresented among rape survivors, with 61.6% aged 13 or younger – most of whom who were assaulted by family members or acquaintances (84.7%), a profile that remained unchanged.

Activists warn that they risk further victimisation under proposed legislation in the chamber of deputies which would penalise women who undergo an abortion after 22 weeks, even in cases of rape.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil, but there is an exception for rape. The new legislation, backed by supporters of the rightwing former president Jair Bolsonaro, would impose prison sentences of up to 20 years for a termination – equal to that for homicide and longer than that for rape (up to 15 years).

After an outcry from feminist and human rights movements, the legislation is now dormant in the lower house, but activists fear it could be revived – and warn that it would inevitably penalise victims of child sexual abuse.

“These are children who don’t have the maturity to understand that they’re being victims of rape,” said Bueno, who added that many young victims do not even realise they are pregnant.

“So criminalising the victim for a supposed ‘delay’ in having an abortion is yet another form of violence against these girls,” she said.

“Our Congress is completely disconnected from what is happening to the population, especially to girls and women,” said Bueno. “Shouldn’t we be discussing how to support these victims?”

For the first time, the report also ranked rape rates in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. The highest rate was record in in Sorriso in Mato Grosso state.

There were 77,000 cases of stalking reported in 2023, an increase of 34%. “This data is particularly relevant because stalking is a crime that often precedes other forms of violence – such as murder,” said Bueno.

Stalking was recognised as a crime in Brazil only in 2021, so the rates are expected to increase yearly as more people become aware of the law.

Despite a new decrease in the total number of homicides, Brazil still accounts for 10% of the world’s murders from just 3% of the global population.

“Brazil was able to reduce murders for another year, but it has also become much more unsafe for girls and women,” said Bueno.