More than eight rapes committed per hour in 2022 in Brazil, a report says

Brazil recorded more than eight rapes per hour on average in 2022, a record, including 61.4% committed against children under 14, according to a report published Thursday by an NGO.

The Brazilian Public Security Forum counted 74,930 rapes last year, an increase of 8.2% compared to 2021. In more than one in ten rapes (10.4%), the victims were under the age of four.

These data were compiled from official documents, including police records.

More than two thirds of the rapes (68.3%) were committed in the victims’ homes. And the vast majority of victims aged 0 to 13 were raped by people they knew (86.1%) or members of their family (64.4%).

As for victims aged at least 14, nearly a quarter (24.3%) of rapes were committed by an ex-partner or someone with whom they were in a relationship at the time of the assault.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, schools remained closed for a long time and the victims were confined with their attackers. With the reopening of schools, the number of denunciations increased”, explains to AFP Juliana Martins, institutional coordinator of the Forum.

The NGO report also identified 1,437 feminicides, an increase of 6.1% compared to the previous year, and 245,713 cases of domestic violence (+ 2.9%).