Victims of sexual exploitation and violence in Brazil

Abstract

At least 8.9% of Brazilian women have already suffered some type of sexual violence in their lives. Every hour, Brazil has 2.2 cases of sexual violence against children and adolescents. Of the approximately 35,000 cases of violence against children and adolescents in 2021, in around 12,000 ethnic groups were not identified, 10,064 were white, 9634 were brown, 2505 black, 141 yellow, and 61 indigenous. If compared to age groups, boys from zero to 6 years reach 30%, but when the age is 12 to 18, women reach 91% of the victims. The whistleblowers are almost always anonymous, unlike in the case of violence against women, which are usually the victims themselves who complain or when they are third parties, they are usually identified. According to official data, around 96% of sexual violence takes place at home. The data are frightening and prove that sexual violence is the result of a scenario of gender inequality because it affects the lives of girls and women in a much more profound way.

Keywords: Sexual exploitation; Sexual harassment; Sexual violence; Social vulnerability.