Crime and violence in Brazil – statistics & facts
Violence and crime have become an outstanding facet of Brazil’s national and international identity, a topic of conversation as widespread as the country’s world-famous barbecues and Carnival. Even though Brazil’s numbers falter in comparison to several Central American and Caribbean nations, it ranks fifth in South America, in terms of homicide rates, following Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana and Colombia. The rise in crime may come as no surprise, as Brazil has one of the highest income inequalities in the region. The combination with drug trafficking routes from its neighboring countries – Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, the three biggest cocaine producers in the world – are some of the factors that have made the country a breeding ground for widespread organized crime and violence.
In contrast, while the majority of homicide victims in the Portuguese-speaking country are men, sexual violence is still mostly directed at women. In 2023, over 86 percent of reported rape cases in Brazil had female victims. Often times, this burden falls on the weakest individuals in society: young girls. Out of the rape cases reported during 2023, roughly 602 percent of victims hadn’t reached their fourteenth birthday, while around 16 percent were aged between 14 and 17 years old. And regardless of the decrease in homicides between 2018 and 2023, the year 2023 had the highest number of rape cases in the decade, with almost 84,000 occurrences reported to authorities, demonstrating the urgent need to improve efforts in battling violence against women.
The battle against crime shows its first results
In 2023, Brazil experienced its third lowest intentional violent death rates in over a decade. In comparison to 2017 when the South American country reported its most murderous year in history, this sudden drop may appear shocking at first glance. However, the decline of crime can be attributed to a series of factors, including a drop in the young, male population as well as several national, state, and municipal security policies put into place in recent years. Another major factor was a negotiated peace between Brazil’s two main drug trafficking organizations, the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command (CV), which led to a reversal to the ever increasing homicide rates in Brazil’s North and Northeast regions – even though states in these two areas remain among the highest rates in the country.Violence with a racial and gender profile
Police violence has been a prominent feature of Brazilian society since the end of the 20th century. As urban violence has increased, the occurrence of violent police actions has become more common. From 2015 to 2023, the number of citizens killed by the police almost doubled. However, the use of police force was ethnically unequal. In 2023, almost 80 percent of police victims in Rio de Janeiro were of Pardo Brazilian or Black ethnicity.In contrast, while the majority of homicide victims in the Portuguese-speaking country are men, sexual violence is still mostly directed at women. In 2023, over 86 percent of reported rape cases in Brazil had female victims. Often times, this burden falls on the weakest individuals in society: young girls. Out of the rape cases reported during 2023, roughly 602 percent of victims hadn’t reached their fourteenth birthday, while around 16 percent were aged between 14 and 17 years old. And regardless of the decrease in homicides between 2018 and 2023, the year 2023 had the highest number of rape cases in the decade, with almost 84,000 occurrences reported to authorities, demonstrating the urgent need to improve efforts in battling violence against women.
