The states with the highest number of cases were Ceará (44), Maranhão (34) and Minas Gerais (32). Ceará also had the highest rate of occurrences per 100,000 inhabitants, with 42 cases.
Juliana Brandão, a senior researcher at the Brazilian Public Security Forum, pointed out that many states have not shared data on the topic, which can lead to underreporting and make it difficult to truly understand the problem. São Paulo, for example, said it does not have this information.
Brandão reinforces the need for police cooperation in correctly classifying cases of violence against LGBTQIA+ people. According to her, if a crime is not recognized as being the result of homophobia in the police report, this creates another layer of underreporting.
The capital of São Paulo recorded an emblematic case in June 2023, when Leonardo Rodrigues Nunes, 24, was murdered after arranging a date through a dating app for gay men. The State Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP) denied homophobic motivation in the case, but the victim’s mother, Adriana Rodrigues, believes that her son was killed because he was gay.
In addition to homicides, there was an increase in reports of bodily harm and rape against LGBTQIA+ people. In 2023, cases of bodily harm increased by 21%, rising from 3,024 in 2022 to 3,673. Rape reports increased by 40.5%, going from 252 to 354.
Minas Gerais (596), Pernambuco (585) and Ceará (498) led in episodes of bodily harm. As for rapes, Mato Grosso do Sul (57), Pernambuco (50) and Minas Gerais (40) were the states with the most records.
The Brazilian Public Security Forum also noted a significant increase in cases of homophobic insults, which fall under the racism law. In 2022, there were 783 incidents, while in 2023 the number jumped to 2,090, an increase of 88%.
Source: Maxima
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