Violence Against Women In Brazil Reaches Highest Level 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 criminalise rape victims who have an abortion.

- Tiago Rogero

The data, released yesterday 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 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 would penalise rape survivors who seek a termination.

Every single indicator of genderbased violence increased in 2023 compared with the previous year, including murder (up 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.

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