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%).
