Drained resources apparent as sexual violence against Brazil's women soars

topic:	Women's rights
located:	Brazil
editor:	Ellen Nemitz

The July release of one of Brazil's most critical reports on violence, the Brazilian Public Security Forum's Yearbook, calls attention to concerning data.

The country had the highest number of rapes ever in 2022, notes the report, reflecting the lack of public policies protecting people from sexual violence. There have been 74,930 victims over the year, primarily women (88.7 per cent) and Black (56.8 per cent).

Up by 8.2 per cent from the previous year, these crimes mainly affect children aged zero to 13, representing more than six out of ten victims. The data further notes nearly two-thirds of the occurrences happen inside households and are carried out by those who know the child.

Between 2021 and 2022, the number of femicides - the murder of a woman due to her gender - also rose. Aside from the 1,437 women that died for the simple fact of being women - most at the hands of partners or former partners - there has been an increase of more than 16 per cent in attempted femicide. Victims are primarily Black and young. Moreover, the report shows a significant increase in sexual harassment and other sexual offences.

More reported rapes do not necessarily mean more are happening. These record rates might reflect a higher number of victims reporting their perpetrators.

In cases of sexual violence, underreporting is common because victims feel too afraid or lack the education to identify the violation.

Juliana Brandão, a researcher at the Brazilian Public Security Forum, points out the responsibility of schools to provide relevant education on the matter.

"When we are facing this universe of children and adolescents, it is even more difficult to imagine that they were responsible for reporting the great violence they suffered. And these adults have managed, in some way, to work as mediators, listening to the children's and adolescents' reports and taking them to the police so that the record could be made," she told Agência Brasil de Comunicação.

Nonetheless, the report "Visible and Invisible: the victimisation of Women in Brazil" shows that 18 million women over 16 experienced some form of violence in 2022, which, compared to previous surveys, brings to spotlight the fact that all forms of violence against women have increased.

The report's assessment of the causes of this concerning scenario pointed to the draining of financial resources to combat violence against women by the federal government over the past four years.

"Without financial, material and human resources, public policy [cannot be made or enforced]," reads the document.

Ultimately, the advance of far-right political extremism influences "culturally ascribed values for women and men that determine expectations about their behaviour" and "outlines the asymmetries and produces violent relations through behaviours that induce women to submit," the report states.

To tackle the alarming data on violence against women and girls, there is a need for enduring public policies. This includes stricter gun regulations and anti-racist measures, as well as imparting unbiased education to foster a genuinely inclusive society for women and girls.

Image by Isis França.

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