Black people in Brazil are 2.6 times more likely to be murdered than non-blacks

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In 2019, blacks accounted for 77% of homicide victims in Brazil, at a rate of 29.2 per 100,000 inhabitants. Among non-blacks, the rate stood at 11.2 per 100,000, meaning that a black person’s risk of being murdered is 2.6 times higher than that of a non-black person.

The official “black” classification in Brazil includes those who self-identify as blacks (“negros”) or as mulattos (“pardos”).

Between 2009 and 2019, 623,439 people were victims of homicide in Brazil. Of these, 333,330, or 53% of the total, were adolescents and youths.

The data are in the 2021 Atlas of Violence edition, released yesterday, August 31. The study was prepared by the Brazilian Public Safety Forum in partnership with the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) and the Jones dos Santos Neves Institute (IJSN).

The numbers presented in the study were based on the analysis of data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) and the Information System of Notifiable Diseases (SINAN) of the Ministry of Health in the period prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In their analysis of data from the past decade, the study’s authors noted that the reduction in homicides that occurred in Brazil was much more concentrated among the non-black population.

Between 2009 and 2019, the number of black homicide victims increased by 1.6%, from 33,929 victims in 2009 to 34,466 in 2019. Meanwhile, non-black victims fell from 15,249 in 2009 to 10,217 in 2019, a 33% decrease.

FEMICIDES

Regarding femicides, the Atlas of Violence shows that 50,056 women were murdered between 2009 and 2019. In this period, the total number of black women killed grew by 2%, while the number of non-black women killed fell by 26.9%.

The publication also highlights a change in the distribution of female homicides: while the rate of women killed in their homes grew by 6.1%, the rate of women killed on the streets fell by 28.1%.

According to the executive director of the Brazilian Forum for Public Safety Samira Bueno, the location of the homicide is important for understanding the dynamics of violence.

“It is widely documented that murders of women inside the home are associated with domestic violence. Murders of women outside their residences, on the other hand, are typically associated with urban violence. The increase in homicides of women within their own homes over the past 11 years indicates the upsurge in domestic violence over the period.”

INCREASE IN VIOLENT DEATHS

Another fact that drew the attention of the study’s authors was the 35% increase in violent deaths of undetermined cause between 2018 and 2019, which, according to the researchers’ analysis, may be reflected in an underreporting of the 45,503 homicides recorded in Brazil during the period.

According to the research, the statistical category violent deaths of undetermined cause is used for cases in which it is impossible to establish the basic cause of death, or its motive, such as resulting from self-inflicted injury (suicide), from incidents such as traffic accidents, or from homicides.

“The abrupt growth of this index in recent years, as never before observed in the historical series, entails serious quality and reliability issues in the information provided by the health system, leading to misleading analyses, as it leads to the underreporting of homicides,” said the president of the Jones dos Santos Neves Institute Daniel Cerqueira.

According to the researcher, on average, 73% of the cases of deaths of undetermined cause refer to homicides, which by itself would raise the number of deaths in the country in 2019.

According to the Atlas of Violence , the numbers of notifications of violence recorded by the Notification Information System between 2018 and 2019, in the variable sexual orientation, against homosexuals and bisexuals, show a 9.8% increase, from 4,855 records in 2018 to 5,330 the following year.

The figures for violence against transgender and transvestite people also grew, going from 3,758 notifications to 3,967 events in 2019, a 5.6% increase in physical violence cases.

FIREARMS

According to the survey, between 2009 and 2019, 439,160 people were murdered by firearms, accounting for 70% of all homicides in the period. The study pointed out that since 2009, a total of 109 people have been murdered by gunfire in Brazil every day.

In 2019, the country recorded 14.7 firearm murders per 100,000 inhabitants, although 16 states recorded rates above the national average.

The highest rate was recorded in Rio Grande do Norte: 33.7 homicides per 100,000 people. Next came Sergipe (33.5), Bahia (30.9), Pernambuco (28.4) and Pará (27.2). The lowest rates were registered in Minas Gerais (8.9), Federal District (8.5), Mato Grosso do Sul (7.8), Santa Catarina (5.3) and São Paulo (3.8).

In 2009, of the total number of homicides in the country, 71.2% were committed with the use of firearms. In 2019, the rate dropped to 67.7%.

“The consequences of the arms policy currently in place in Brazil create risks of increasing the number of homicides in the medium and long term. In light of scientific evidence, this policy must be reassessed as soon as possible, not only to reduce the damage currently inflicted on society as a whole, but also the future risks against the life and safety of Brazilians,” the document points out.