In 2024, Brazil’s homicide rate reached its lowest level since the Atlas of Violence began tracking the data in 2014. The study, conducted annually by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP), was released on Tuesday (May 26).

The country recorded 20.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, a rate 7.4 percent lower than in 2023. In absolute terms, there were 42,590 homicides in 2024, a decrease of 6.9 percent.

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The study was based on data from the Ministry of Health’s Mortality Information System (SIM) and Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN).

An analysis of the 2014–2024 period shows that the national homicide rate fell by 33.4 percent and the number of homicides decreased by 29.6 percent.

Daniel Cerqueira, coordinator of the Atlas of Violence and a planning and research specialist at IPEA, noted that Brazil is undergoing a major transition. While homicides are declining, the country is experiencing rising insecurity and persistent or even widening inequalities affecting minority populations.

Black people

In 2024 alone, 32,820 homicides of black people were recorded, accounting for 77 percent of all reported homicides. The rate was 27.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, equivalent to 89.9 black people murdered each day across the country.

From 2014 to 2024, 435,551 black people were killed in Brazil, compared to 132,156 non-black victims. Although homicide rates declined for both groups, the reductions were uneven, IPEA and FBSP reported. The rate fell by 38.9 percent among non-black people, compared with 21.7 percent among black people.

According to the Atlas of Violence, in terms of relative risk, a black person is 2.7 times more likely to be killed in a homicide than a non-black person.

The homicide rate for young people aged 15 to 29 in Brazil fell by 33.9 percent from 2014 to 2024. The data can be found in the Atlas da Violência 2026 (“2026 Atlas of Violence”), released Tuesday (May 26) by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP).

Over the course of this 10-year span, 301,825 young people within this age group were murdered in Brazil – which amounts to a daily 75 and accounts for 46.5 percent of all homicide victims in the country.

According to the atlas, 19,801 young people were murdered in 2024 – a rate of 42.2 homicides per 100 thousand youths.

The study also indicates that, when hidden homicides – probable murder cases that were not officially recorded – are taken into account, the estimated rate rises to 46.1 homicides per 100 thousand youths.

The lowest rate was found in São Paulo state (10.7 per 100 thousand youths), and the highest rates in Amapá (114.7) and Bahia (101.8).

Armed and male

Of the total 19,800 young people murdered in 2024, 18,545 were men – representing a homicide rate of 78 per 100 thousand male youths – nearly double the overall rate.

The study highlights that lethal violence is predominantly male and gun-related, resulting from structural factors and mostly concentrated in poor and marginalized regions.

Of the 54 young people killed daily in 2024, 51 were men. Among teenagers aged 15 to 19, firearms were used in 84.1 percent of homicides.

Daniel Cerqueira, coordinator for the atlas, points out that prior to an individual’s physical death, there is a cycle of violence in their life beginning at birth.

“It’s a wake-up that should get us to decide what we want to do with our children, adolescents, and young people, who are the future of the nation,” he warned.

The survey notes that some 14 children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 were murdered each day in Brazil in 2024.

Teenagers

Lethal violence was most prevalent among teenagers aged 15 to 19, despite a 55.8 percent plunge in the number of homicides, which fell from 10,348 in 2014 to 4,570 in 2024. The rate went from 60.3 homicides per 100 thousand teenagers to 30.5.

The atlas reveals a strong predominance of firearm use in homicides of 15- to 19-year-olds (84.1 percent of cases), suggesting dynamics typical of interpersonal violence in urban contexts.

Domestic violence

Domestic violence was the most common form of violence against children and adolescents from 2014 to 2024, with 676,282 cases reported, broken down as follows:

• 253,199 involving children aged 0 to 4;
• 279,542 involving children aged 5 to 14; and
• 143,541 involving adolescents aged 15 to 19.

Regarding younger children, the recommendation is to adopt strategies that protect children in the home environment, as well as to prevent abuse and identify risky situations before they occur.

Last Wednesday (May 20), Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree aimed at strengthening the protection of women in the digital environment. The decree outlines the obligations of digital platforms regarding crimes of violence against women online and establishes tools to prevent and combat online violence.

Lula also signed four laws aimed at expanding protections for women and strengthening mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable. The new rules:

    • create the National Registry of Offenders;
    • expand the circumstances under which an abuser can be immediately removed from contact with the victim;
    • tighten measures against criminals who continue to threaten women even after arrest; and
    • reduce red tape to speed up the enforcement of protective measures and court orders.

The signing took place during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace to mark the 100th day of Brazil’s national pact against femicide, launched in February by the federal government, the National Congress, and the judiciary.

Lula argued for the inclusion of misogyny and combating violence against women in school curricula, as well as initiatives that promote a cultural shift in gender relations. In Brazil, approximately 70 percent of cases of violence against women occur within the home.

“Men haven’t realized that jealousy is one of the most violent diseases we have [...]. There are people who are so jealous they won’t let their wives have a beer with friends after work, go to a soccer game, or go alone to a concert or the theater. This needs to be addressed,” said the president. “How are we going to overcome this problem if not through education?” he added.

National pact

The national pact against femicide calls for coordinated and ongoing action among the three branches of government. It also recognizes that violence against women in the country constitutes a structural crisis that cannot be addressed through isolated measures.

“What we are demonstrating here is that silence and inaction do not help. What we are realizing here is that when the state shows it is fulfilling its obligations, people begin to have confidence,” said the president.

He went on to emphasize that the problem does not only concern the woman or girl who is a victim, but the entire community. “Everyone should feel violated when a 12-year-old girl is violated,” he argued.

Violence online

The decree on the protection of women in the digital environment establishes mechanisms to ensure that platforms fulfill their duty to prevent gender-based violence and act swiftly to address such situations.

From now on, companies must take action to curb the spread of crimes, fraud, and violence within their ecosystems and reduce any harm caused to victims, especially in situations involving the non-consensual exposure of nude images – even if created by artificial intelligence – of girls and women, as well as threats, stalking, and coordinated harassment.

The decree also requires platforms to maintain a specific, permanent, and easily accessible channel for reporting intimate content shared without consent, with a requirement to remove the material within two hours of notification.

In addition, companies must preserve evidence and information necessary for investigating and holding perpetrators accountable.

The prohibition on the use of artificial intelligence to produce fake or sexualized intimate images of women is now included in the scope of preventive measures required of platforms. The move aims to address the rise of sexual deepfakes, which have also been made a crime by Congress.
 

The Brazilian government last Friday (May 22) proposed a regional pact against femicide in Mercosur, inspired by Brazil’s model of collaboration among its three branches of government. The initiative was presented by Women’s Minister Márcia Lopes during the 26th Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities for Women of Mercosur (RMAAM) in Asunción, Paraguay.

According to the minister, the proposal envisions cooperation among the bloc’s countries to strengthen policies for violence prevention, protection, and increased access to justice.

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“It is a political commitment among all Mercosur member and associate states to act in a coordinated and cooperative manner, respecting their sovereignties, competences, and national legal frameworks, to address femicide as a regional priority,” said Lopes.

Uruguay supported the proposal and pledged to keep the debate moving during its Mercosur presidency. Argentina, in turn, said it would continue its internal consultations on the matter.

In addition to the regional pact, the Brazilian government presented measures on digital platform regulation and combating violence against women in virtual environments.

“Brazil is taking the lead with the decrees announced by President Lula this week to protect women and with key measures on digital platform regulation,” the minister stated.

The country also shared the results of the first 100 days of the Brazilian Pact Against Femicide with the Paraguayan government. According to the Ministry of Women, the initiative led to the arrest of 6,300 abusers, slashed the review time for protective measures from 16 days to under three, and monitored more than 6,500 women using electronic devices.

Cooperation

Paraguayan Minister for Women Alicia Pomata advocated for expanding regional cooperation to address inequalities.

“Regional integration must be built from a perspective that places women at the center, recognizing their realities and valuing their contributions to the development of our nations,” Pomata declared.

The meeting’s program included debates on access to justice, digital violence, women’s economic empowerment, and care policies. Actions from the RMAAM’s 2025-2026 Work Plan were also discussed, focusing on topics such as gender-based political violence, trafficking of women, and mutual recognition of protective measures.

Created in 2011, RMAAM is the main Mercosur body focused on coordinating gender equality policies among the bloc’s member and associate countries.

Mercosur

Mercosur is a South American regional integration bloc created in 1991 and composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Venezuela is also a member, but has been suspended since 2016 due to political issues.