In the first half of 2023, one in eight women were victims of rape in Brazil, with Santa Catarina topping the list for the increase in rape cases compared to the same period in 2022. There are 2,088 people in the state, including rape and rape of vulnerable people. This is the highest record in the historical series since 2019.

The data comes from the Brazilian Public Security Forum and was published this Monday – Photo: Disclosure

The data comes from the Brazilian Public Security Forum and was published on Monday (13).

Rape cases have increased sharply

There are more than 34 thousand cases of rape and rape of vulnerable people in Brazil. All data corresponds to police reports from civilian police departments throughout the country.

About 74.5% of cases were rapes of vulnerable people. Thus, the victims were under 14 years of age or unable to consent.

Lack of consent may be due to some disease, mental retardation or any other reason that cannot be resisted.

Children are the biggest victims of rape

The most serious figure is that children are the largest victims of sexual violence in Brazil, according to Amanda Lagreca, a researcher at the Brazilian Forum for Public Safety. Moreover, the place where violence occurs is the home itself, a place that is supposed to provide security.

The most serious figure is that children are the largest victims of sexual violence in Brazil. Photo: Disclosure

“This makes it very difficult for victims of these types of crimes to comprehend the violence they suffer. This could be either due to ignorance of the subject or due to connection with the aggressor,” he points out.

In the first half of 2023, all regions of Brazil saw an increase in cases of rape and rape of vulnerable people. But the widest variation was observed in the south of the country, where the increase was 32.4%.

This is followed by the North, which grew by 25%, and the North-East region, which grew by 13.2%.

The biggest decline occurred in Mato Grosso, a state that recorded a 25% decline, from 885 cases to 664.

Femicides in the country

The number of femicides recorded between January and July this year is the highest on record since 2019, according to the survey.

Samira Bueno, executive director of the Brazilian Public Security Forum, explains that most cases involve intimate murders of women. In other words, they occur in the home due to spouses, boyfriends, and ex-husbands.

“We have made significant progress in recent years through the introduction of new protection laws. However, unfortunately, this has not led to an improvement in the implemented government policy,” he says.