Brazil reached a record number of 1,518 victims of femicide in 2025, the year in which the Femicide Law celebrated its 10th anniversary. The figures were released from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.

In the previous year, 2024, the country had reached a record high with 1,458 victims.

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When it first came into force, the law added the crime of homicide against women to Brazil’s Penal Code under domestic violence and discrimination.

“If [the increase in cases] is happening, it is due to the state’s failure to act, because this is a preventable crime,” said Samira Bueno, executive director of the Brazilian Forum on Public Safety (FBSP), during the launch of the Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) annual report on Wednesday (Feb. 4).

The document, which looks at the human rights situation in over 100 countries, highlights domestic and gender-based violence as one of the most frequent violations in Brazil.

According to Bueno, this omission affects all spheres of power.

“In Brazil today, we are experiencing the de-funding of these policies at the municipal and state levels, which are the actors involved in the protection network, covering social work, health care, and the police at its disposal to really make a difference in the lives of these girls and women,” she noted.

Samira Bueno further pointed out that public policies to protect the lives of girls and women cannot be implemented without human as well as financial resources.

“This is a cause that many politicians like to champion – the defense of the lives of girls and women – but when they have the power to make decisions, when they sit in their chairs and have the ability to make a difference, the budget is not there,” she argued.

A pact against femicide

On Wednesday (4), in a joint initiative, the Brazilian government, the National Congress, and the Judiciary launched the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide.

The plan outlines coordinated and permanent action between the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil.

The strategy also includes the website TodosPorTodas.br, which should gather information about the pact, publicize planned actions, present reporting channels and public policies for the protection of women, and encourage the engagement of public institutions, private companies, and society.

While signing the decree establishing the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide on Wednesday (Feb. 4), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva argued that combating femicide and all forms of violence against women should be the responsibility of society – but above all of men.

“It’s not enough not to be an aggressor. We must also fight to ensure there are no more attacks. Every man in this country has a mission to fulfill,” he said during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace.

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The pact outlines coordinated and permanent action among the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil. The novelty, Lula said, is that for the first time they are assuming that the responsibility for defending women is not only women’s.

“We’re telling the Brazilian trade union movement that this is a topic for factory gates and workers’ assemblies. We’re telling congressmen and congresswomen that this is a topic for all their speeches,” he said.

“We’re trying to raise awareness among children, because it’s the duty of our teachers, as it’s a topic that spans from nursery school to university. This is an opportunity to create a new civilization, a civilization in which it’s not gender that makes the difference, but rather behavior and respect,” he added.

The ceremony was opened by First Lady Janja da Silva. She read a story narrated by a woman who was assaulted by her boyfriend, beaten in public, but who did not get help from people who witnessed the assault.

“We are all committed to creating a society where women can live in peace. We want you, men, in this fight, by our side,” she said.

Brazilian judiciary and legislative

Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Edson Fachin, argued that the changes should not be limited to the letter of the law. “We must act on several fronts to prevent, hold accountable, and protect [women],” he declared.

“Changing the law is important, but it is not enough. Changing the law must be accompanied by a change of hearts and minds in the state, in society, and most importantly, in families. This change begins when we start to act,” he went on to say.

The judiciary, he pointed out, signed this pact “with a sense of urgency and hope, committing itself fully to the initiative.” “True peace is not born of fear and silence, but flourishes when there is protection, freedom, and dignity,” he concluded.

Lower house speaker Hugo Motta noted that Brazil ended 2025 with an average of four women murdered per day.

“It is inconceivable that we allow these numbers to continue. This action [as outlined in the pact] cannot be delayed,” he said, stating that the legislative branch will work to toughen laws in order to punish “those who act in this way, through violence against women.”

“You can count on our priority in this agenda to change this reality,” he concluded.

Senate President Davi Alcolumbre said that Brazilian institutions are united in purposes such as this. “Femicide is not just statistics, but an open wound in Brazilian society,” which needs to be treated as a problem of the state, not of the government.

“[Femicide] is the cruelest side of violence that affects the lives of thousands every day. And the pact is, above all, a commitment between institutions and a declaration of responsibility by the Brazilian state, which reaffirms one of its fundamental duties to combat femicide with the utmost rigor, with absolute priority, and with permanent action,” he stated.

The Brazilian government, the National Congress, and the Judiciary on Wednesday (Feb. 4) launched an initiative dubbed the National Pact: Brazil Against Femicide.

The plan outlines coordinated and permanent action between the three branches of government with the aim of preventing violence against girls and women in Brazil.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazilian Feminicide Law turns 10, impunity still a challenge.

The agreement recognizes that violence against women in the country is a structural crisis that cannot be addressed by isolated efforts.

A campaign guided by the slogan Todos Juntos por Todas (“Everyone together for the women”) was also launched, calling on society as a whole to take an active role in combating violence.

Objectives

Among the objectives of the pact are to accelerate the implementation of protective measures, strengthen networks to combat violence throughout Brazil, expand educational initiatives, and hold perpetrators accountable, thereby combating impunity.

The agreement also envisages commitments aimed at transforming the institutional culture of the three branches of government, promoting equal treatment between men and women, combating structural sexism, and incorporating responses to new challenges, such as digital violence against women.

The strategy also includes the website TodosPorTodas.br, which will gather information about the pact, publicize planned actions, present reporting channels and public policies for the protection of women, and encourage the engagement of public institutions, private companies, and society.

The platform will provide a downloadable guide with information on different types of violence, policies to combat it, and practical guidelines for responsible communication, in line with the commitment to save lives.

Committee

The pact also stipulates the creation of an Inter-institutional Management Committee, coordinated by the Brazilian president’s office. The committee should bring together representatives from the three branches of government, with permanent participation from prosecutors and public defenders, ensuring continuous monitoring, federal coordination, and transparency.

Numbers

Data from the judicial system show that, in 2025, the Brazilian courts tried an average of 42 cases of femicide per day, totaling 15,453 trials – a 17-percent increase over the previous year.

In the same period, 621,202 protective measures were granted, equivalent to 70 measures per hour, as per figures from the National Council of Justice.

Ligue 180, the women’s assistance hotline, recorded an average of 425 complaints per day in 2025.

Changes

Below are the main changes planned by the government with the new pact:

• Faster protective measures that really work – less time between reporting and effective protection for women. The idea is that judicial decisions, police, social services, and shelters will act in a coordinated manner, without buck-passing.
   
• Three branches of government looking at the same case – the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as oversight bodies, share information and monitor cases in an integrated manner, from the request for help all the way to the outcome, reducing failures that currently put women at risk.
   
• More prevention before violence turns into death – ongoing campaigns, rights education, training for public officials, and actions to change the culture of violence – including involving men as part of the solution.
   
• Faster accountability for perpetrators – swifter proceedings, less impunity, and firmer responses to those who violate protective measures or commit violence.
   
• Special attention to those most at risk – focus on black, indigenous, and quilombola women, women in the periphery and rural areas, women with disabilities, young and elderly women, and women living in remote or more vulnerable areas.
   
• Response to new forms of violence – tackling digital violence, such as harassment, threats, and online exposure, which often precede physical assaults.
   
• Public reporting of results – periodic reports, targets, and accountability.

Brazil still ranks first among the nations with the highest number of murders of transgender people, with 80 recorded in 2025. The figures come from the latest edition of a dossier produced by the country’s National Association of Transvestites and Transgender People (ANTRA), released this week.

The result represents a drop of 34 percent from the previous year’s 122 murders – but does not remove Brazil from the top of the ranking, a position it has held for almost 18 years.

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The data are the reflection of an entire system that normalizes oppression against transgender people, said ANTRA’s President Bruna Benevides.

“These are not isolated deaths. They reveal a population exposed to extreme violence from an early age – lives marked by social exclusion, racism, institutional neglect, and ongoing psychological suffering,” she said.

Violence

The data for the study stem from the daily monitoring of news stories, direct complaints made to trans protection organizations, and public records. In Benevides’ view, this situation in itself casts light on a form of violence – if society does not do this work, the deaths simply do not exist in the eyes of the government.

In 2025, Ceará and Minas Gerais were the Brazilian states with the highest number of murders – eight each. Overall, violence remains concentrated in the Northeast region, which registered 38 murders, followed by the Southeast with 17, the Central-West with 12, the North with seven, and the South with six.

Another survey, also conducted by the association, covering from 2017 to 2025, showed the state of São Paulo as the most lethal, with 155 deaths. The study revealed that most of the victims are trans women, predominantly young, with the highest incidence in the 18–35 age group, with black and pardo people being the most affected.

The dossier also points out that, even though murders have decreased, there has been a surge in the number of attempted homicides. This means that the 34-percent drop from 2024 does not actually translate into a decline in violence.

In its analysis, the association says this scenario is explained by a set of factors such as underreporting, distrust of security and justice institutions, reduced media coverage, and the absence of specific public policies to combat transphobia – crimes of prejudice, discrimination, and hostility directed at transgender people.

Public policies 

In addition to the diagnosis, the dossier lists a number of recommendations to Brazilian public authorities, the justice system, public security, and human rights institutions, calling for dialogue and concrete proposals aimed at breaking the cycle of impunity and deprivation that marks the reality of transgender Brazilians.

Bruna Benevides, also an author of the dossier, believes that the association’s report “is an embarrassment to the state,” educates society, and breaks the silence.

“We must recognize that policies to protect women need to be accessible and available to transgender women, for instance. We need to think about making what already exists accessible and implementing what has not yet been properly achieved. There is a lot of production, including data, but a lack of action on the part of decision-makers,” she added.

The ninth edition of the report, entitled Dossiê: Assassinatos e Violências Contra Travestis e Transexuais Brasileiras (“Dossier: Murders and Violence Against Brazilian Transvestites and Transsexuals”) will be presented at a ceremony in the auditorium of the Ministry of Human Rights headquarters, with official delivery to representatives of the Brazilian federal government.

Violent deaths

The data released Monday reinforce the scenario outlined on January 18 by the Gay Group of Bahia (GGB) in the Observatory of Violent Deaths of LGBT+ People in Brazil, which is updated annually.

The figures – which cover not only trans people but also gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, among other groups – show that 257 violent deaths were documented in 2025, including 204 homicides, 20 suicides, 17 robberies followed by death, and 16 other cases, involving being hit by a vehicle or drowning, for example.

Compared to 2024, when 291 cases were recorded, a decrease of 11.7 percent was observed. However, this still translates to one death every 34 hours in the country.

Also according to the GGB, Brazil continued to be the country with the highest number of homicides and suicides of LGBT+ people worldwide last year – followed by Mexico with 40 and the US with 10.

*Trainee under the supervision of Mariana Tokarnia

A 2025 report by Brazil’s Ministry of Labor and Employment reveals that 2,772 people were rescued from situations analogous to slavery that year. For the first time, most of the workers – 68 percent – were employed in city centers.

“Contemporary slave labor is not restricted to a specific economic activity. Even though most rescues traditionally happen in rural areas, in 2025 the number of workers rescued in urban areas was higher,” said Shakti Borela, general coordinator of inspection for the eradication of slave labor and human trafficking.

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The construction sector saw the highest number of rescues, with 601 cases in masonry work and another 186 in building construction. Other activities with a high number of rescues were public administration, with 304 cases; coffee cultivation, with 184; and the extraction and crushing of stones and other materials, with 126.

According to the ministry, most of the rescued workers are aged 30 through 39, are male, and have low levels of education. Among those rescued, 83 percent self-identified as black or pardo.

In the view of Dercylete Loureiro, director of the Labor Inspection Department, this profile reveals trajectories marked by historical vulnerabilities, which have exposed this segment of the population to conditions analogous to slavery for decades.

Rights

After the crackdowns, all workers were able to access their legal right to an insurance benefit for rescued workers, paid in three installments equal to one minimum wage, and were referred to social welfare services. Over BRL 9 million was said to have been paid to the victims.

In total, tax auditors carried out 1,594 operations to combat slave-like labor in 2025, which, in addition to rescues, also ensured labor rights for more than 48 thousand workers.

Brazil’s Supreme Court Chief Edson Fachin said on Monday (Jan. 26) that democracy in Brazil and across the Americas is facing “challenging times.”

The justice’s statement was made during the inauguration of Rodrigo Mudrovitsch, a Brazilian judge, as president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Costa Rica.

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Fachin cited the convictions of those involved in the January 8, 2023, coup attempts and stated that the three branches of the Brazilian government faced “dark forces” seeking a coup d’état.

“The democratic rule of law is going through challenging times. Later this month, we will mark three years since an episode occurred that tested the strength of our democratic institutions and constitutional justice,” Fachin noted.

The justice also said that the erosion of democratic institutions represents a new form of attempt to undermine democracy.

“Authoritarian movements that seek to supplant democracy do not always show themselves in their most strident and explicitly violent form. Today, we are witnessing a movement with a new guise, although equally harmful in its effects. Erosion of democracy corrodes institutions from within,” he added.