According to the expert, the reason can be found in the aftermath of the corona pandemic. Brazil’s far-right is pushing for a law that would criminalize abortions of pregnancies resulting from rape.
Brazil saw a record number of rapes and other violence against women last year, British newspaper The Guardian tells.
This is already the second record year in a row in the statistics of violence against women.
The data was released on July 18 by the Brazilian Public Security Forum in its annual report. According to it, the number of rape cases increased last year compared to the previous year by 6.5 percent – 83,988 were registered, in other words, six per minute. Brazil has about 215 million inhabitants.
In 2023, every indicator of violence against women increased, including murder (0.8%), sexual harassment (48.7%) and stalking (34.5%).
The total number of murders, on the other hand, decreased by 3.4 percent for the sixth year in a row. Last year, 46,328 of them were made.
Forum leader Samira Bueno estimates that the growth of gender-based violence may be the consequences of the corona pandemic.
– Since 2021, the statistics about violence against women have grown at an accelerating pace, and they are much higher than before the pandemic, says Bueno.
– Brazil has always been a very violent country, but it seems that the pandemic changed something. Increased tensions at home have potentially exacerbated all these forms of violence.
According to experts, the statistics are particularly worrying because, at the same time, Brazil’s extreme right is pushing a bill in the country’s Congress that would criminalize the termination of pregnancies caused by rape.
Termination of pregnancy is illegal in Brazil, but the law allows an exception for pregnancies caused by rape. Ex-president Jair Bolsonaro in the bill pushed by supporters, abortion could be punishable by 20 years in prison.
In Brazil, you can get a similar punishment for murder. The maximum penalty for rape is 15 years in prison.
Children are overrepresented in the statistics. 61.6 percent of the rape victims were 13 years old or younger. In almost 85 percent of the cases, the perpetrator was a family member or an acquaintance.