By Luiza Tanuri
According to the 17th edition of the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook of the Brazilian Public Security Forum, during 2022, Brazil recorded the highest number of rapes in its history. Much can be speculated about how this alarming increase is associated with years of public policies encouraging reporting and a greater ability of Brazilians to identify sexual violence. However, these speculations do not overshadow the fact that at least 74,930 people were raped in Brazil over the last year.
Among so many alarming numbers, some can be highlighted. According to published data, there was an 8.6% increase in the number of rapes of vulnerable people in 2022 compared to 2021. There were 56,829 cases of rape of vulnerable people (when the victim is up to 13 years of age) recorded by Brazilian authorities, and of these vulnerable people, 56.2% were black children.
In total, 8 out of 10 rape victims in Brazil were under 18 years of age.
Of these victims under the age of 13, 64.4% identified family members as their aggressors. At this point it is necessary to note that there is an enormous complexity in combating crimes that occur within the home. Responses from public authorities such as an increase in police numbers would not impact the recurrence of this type of crime. It is also necessary to highlight the essential role of the school in identifying this type of violence. Often, it is school professionals who identify situations of abuse against children. This highlights a need to strengthen education professionals and provide them with tools to identify situations of violence by promoting, with their students, debates on sexual and domestic violence.
Furthermore, Promundo, through its Program P methodology, works directly with parents and caregivers in addition to public sector professionals who work with families to promote participatory parental care and strengthen public policy. The work of involving men in care during pregnancy and participatory fatherhood in early childhood is an important strategy in preventing violence. Promundo believes that a father who cares, who participates in pregnancy, childbirth and care in the first years of life can be a less violent father.
The worsening of numbers occurred in all indicators of sexual violence in the country, as well as in all other indicators that refer to children and adolescents – with the exception of indicators that refer to homicide. Crimes of abuse and bodily harm, child pornography, sexual exploitation of children and adolescents increased. Of the victims of abuse and bodily harm, victims of early childhood age are mostly boys.
During adolescence, the most frequent victims of physical violence are black girls, and the perpetrators of this violence are mostly men in the family circle. Taking all this data into account, it is essential that men work to deconstruct rigid norms related to gender and promote other possibilities for performing masculinity.
Finally, the need to challenge the public sector regarding a response to these appalling numbers is highlighted. In the absence of public policies that have proven effective in combating sexual and gender-based violence, Promundo encourages the public sector to think that working together with the perpetrators of this violence is an essential measure for the construction of a new reality. Bringing resources and promoting programs that work directly with men and boys along with strengthening professionals who work directly with this population is a way to combat this devastating reality.
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