Brazil set a grim record of more than 1,400 femicides last year, a study found Wednesday, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced several measures to combat violence against women.
The total – 1,410 women who died as a result of gender-based violence – represents almost one victim every six hours, and a five percent increase from 2021.
Also read: Egypt sentences people to death for killing women
This is the highest figure since femicide records began in 2015, according to the G1 news site, which compiled the information based on official statistics from each of Brazil’s 27 states.
The increase comes despite a one percent drop in the total number of murders, to a total of 40,800 in 2022.
Brazil is among the most violent countries
Brazil is one of the most violent countries in the world for women, with a homicide rate of 3.5 per 100,000 female inhabitants, according to United Nations statistics.
The level of violence against women is “intolerable,” Lula said at a ceremony at the presidential palace to mark International Women’s Day.
Also read: New research hopes to break the chain of femicides
“We present a package of measures to stop this barbarity. But we must go beyond just fighting physical violence,” he said.
These measures include increasing funding for women’s shelters and reviving support programs for victims of domestic violence.
The veteran leftist, who took office in January, accused his predecessor, former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, of “inciting violence against women.”
Bolsonaro has often been accused of sexist attacks, such as his claim in 2014 that a female colleague in Congress “doesn’t deserve to be raped” because she is “so ugly.”
Flanked by his wife, First Lady Rosangela “Janja” da Silva, and Brazil’s first female president, former leader Dilma Rousseff, Lula said he also sent a bill to Congress to guarantee equal pay for women.