Epidemiological Patterns of Violence Against Girls and Women in Brazil: Challenges on 2030 Agenda

Background

Violence against girls and women (VWA) constitutes a serious violation of human rights, threatening the rights to life, physical integrity, and dignity; it is recognized as a public health problem of great magnitude and complexity, and addressing it is one of the priorities of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Objectives

To describe the evolution of notifications of violence against girls and women, according to life cycle stages, recorded in the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) between 2015-2024 and to analyze the most recent association between the characteristics of the victims, the types of violence suffered, and the aggressors.

Methods

Study with SINAN data, analyzing notifications of interpersonal violence against girls and women, by life cycle (0-9 years; 10-19 years; 20-59 years; 60 years or more). An analysis of the historical series (2015-2024) was carried out, by sociodemographic characteristics. For 2024, Simple Correspondence Analyses were performed for each life cycle, to identify associations between the variables studied.

Results

Reports of violence against girls and women increased during the analyzed period, rising from 117,244 (2015) to 247,366 (2024), although showing a reduction in the years 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic. Throughout the period, the majority of reports were from women between 20 and 39 years old, of mixed race, and residing in the Southeast region. The home was the main place of occurrence, and the aggressors were predominantly men. Children under 2 years old were most exposed to neglect; those aged 2-5, to physical violence; those aged 6-9, to sexual violence, usually perpetrated by family members. Adolescents faced sexual violence from acquaintances; adult women, violence from intimate partners; and elderly women, neglect.

Conclusions

The findings contribute to the understanding of different vulnerability and in the articulation of intersectoral protection networks.

Key messages

• The main aggressors against children tend to be family members. Effective interventions that interrupt this pattern of intergenerational violence are necessary to promote safer and healthier family.

• The findings contribute to the understanding of different vulnerability profiles and can support the formulation of intersectoral public policies.