In 2023, a woman was raped every 6 minutes in Brazil: new study

Sao Paulo, Brazil – In 2023, a rape case was registered in Brazil every six minutes, with a total of 83,988 rape victims. The figure represents a 6.5% increase in reported rapes compared to 2022 and the highest number of rapes in a single year in the country’s history.

61.6 percent of the victims were under 13 years old and 52.5 percent were black women. Most rapes were committed by family members, partners or ex-partners of the victims. The data comes from a survey by the Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública, an NGO that collects crime statistics in the country.

In 2011, the first year of the survey, 43,869 people were reported as victims of rape in Brazil. Since then, the country has reached new records with almost uninterrupted growth, with rapes increasing by 91.5% between 2011 and 2023.

But for 2023, the NGO also noted an increase in all forms of violence against women: 1,467 women were killed, 63.6% of whom were black and 71.1% were between 18 and 44 years old. The study shows that 64% of femicides took place in the victims’ homes and 90% of the killers were men – 63% were partners of the victims and 21.2% were ex-partners.

In addition, Brazil recorded an increase in reports of sexual harassment (28.5%), distribution of rape images or revenge porn (47.8%), assaults as a result of domestic violence (9.8%), stalking (34.5%), threats (16.5%), psychological violence (33.8%) and attempted femicide (7.1%).

According to Isabella Matosinhos, sociologist and researcher at the Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública, all these forms of violence against women together amounted to over 1 million victims in 2023 alone.

“Unfortunately, the situation remains discouraging this year,” Matosinhos said in the report. “There is a perception that violence against women has become normal in society.” She also stressed that the higher the level of violence in a society, measured by the murder rate among men and women, the higher the level of violence against women.

Psychological violence

Matosinhos also pointed to the increase in cases of threats, stalking and psychological violence – forms of violence that, although considered “less serious” than physical attacks or rape, still cause irreparable harm to victims.

“Especially in the current context, where crime in general has expanded to virtual modes, stalking deserves even more attention, as it can be carried out in all kinds of ways, not only through physical presence, but also through phone calls, text messages, emails and social media. The increase in reported cases of this crime in Brazil is an example of this,” she said.

According to Matosinhos, threats, stalking and psychological violence are closely linked and can have a profound impact on the mental and emotional health of victims, perpetuating a cycle of fear, submission and control.

“These crimes can occur in many contexts, including the workplace and other areas of women’s public life, but like most forms of violence, they often occur in the domestic context,” the researcher added.

While the increase in these crimes is a negative trend, Matosinhos said, it could also indicate that women are becoming more willing to acknowledge that they are victims of psychological violence, to report it and to seek help.

The role of men

The Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública has also initiated a discussion on the role of men in this scenario of increasing violence against women. The idea is to divert the focus from the victim, who suffered the violence and could do little or nothing to prevent the crime.

“A different interpretation of the same idea can help us focus our attention where change is most needed: Men kill women. Men rape women. These crime numbers are numbers of men raping women,” the study says.

According to the NGO, the way the data is presented can have significant implications. While focusing on the victim can reinforce the image of women’s vulnerability and passivity, “when we claim that men are generally responsible for these deaths, we personalize the active subject of this crime and place him at the center of the narrative. This allows us to emphasize male responsibility for perpetuating the violence and the act of violence itself.”

The study concludes that this perspective can help counteract the view that violence against women is an inevitable or natural phenomenon, and instead demonstrates that such violence is an active choice of the perpetrator and the society that normalizes it.