The Persistence of Sexual Violence in Brazil: Temporal Evolution of Rape and Sexual Abuse of Vulnerable Individuals Registers, 2021-2025
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study analyzed temporal trends and sociodemographic and territorial inequalities in police records of rape and rape of vulnerable persons in Brazil from 2021 to 2025. An ecological, descriptive, longitudinal study was conducted using data from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbooks published between 2022 and 2026. Absolute numbers, rates per 100,000 inhabitants, annual changes, sex, macroregion, federative unit, race/skin color, age group, relationship to the perpetrator, and place of occurrence were examined. Data from 2020 were used exclusively as the baseline for the 2021 variation. Records increased from 68,885 in 2021 to 84,388 in 2025, a 22.5% rise, after peaking at 88,843 in 2024. Female victims predominated, and more than three quarters of the records involved people aged 0–17 years. Black victims were the majority among cases with valid race/skin color information. The home remained the main setting, and family members or other acquaintances accounted for most reported perpetrators. The North, South, and Central-West showed higher rates, although with different trajectories. The findings demonstrate persistence, concentration among children and adolescents, and sex, racial, and territorial inequalities, requiring intersectoral prevention, improved records, protection within close relationships, and stronger care and accountability networks.
Source: Artefactum
Authors: Claudia Teixeira Cunha, Quelma Barbosa Maia, João Paulo Teixeira da Silva, Maria de Lima Alves, Menandes Alves de Souza Neto, Márcio Carneiro de Almeida, Emanoela Therezinha Bessa Mendes, Ana Carolina Costa Benevides Leite, Emmanuella Costa de Azevedo Mello, Gyovanna Sarah de Almeida Vale, Marilane Vilela Marques, Ana Edimilda Amador
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7208825833