Brazil: Femicide victims 38% higher than official records
Brazil registered 6,904 victims of attempted and completed femicides in 2025, a 34 percent increase from 2024, when there were 5,150 victims. Of these, 4,755 were attempted femicides and 2,149 were murders, averaging nearly six women (5.89) killed per day in the country.
The data come from the 2025 Annual Report on Femicides in Brazil, prepared by the Laboratory for Femicide Studies at the State University of Londrina (Lesfem/UEL), and also include profiles of victims and perpetrators.
The survey exceeds by 38.8 percent, or more than 600, the number of femicide victims reported by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security through the National Public Security Information System (Sinesp). The data in the system are reported by the states. According to the latest update last month, 1,548 women were killed by femicide in 2025.
Lesfem researcher Daiane Bertasso, a member of the team that prepares the report, explained that the underreporting of cases of violence against women is reflected in the difference between the data. Both the absence of complaints and the lack of crime classification at the time of registration contribute to this underreporting.
“Even though our data is higher than the public security data [Sinesp], we believe there is still underreporting, because not every femicide is reported or publicized in the media. Based on our experience and research, we believe that this record is still lower than the reality, unfortunately,” said Bertasso.
The methodology used for the report includes producing counter-data from the Monitor of Femicides in Brazil (MFB), run by Lesfem, which monitors daily non-state sources reporting intentional violent deaths of women, such as news websites. In addition to the quantitative and qualitative analysis of these data, it is compared with official records.
“The researchers who compile these records from news sources have a more accurate eye for identifying attempted femicides. In contrast, public security records are limited because not all municipalities and states provide specific training for professionals to identify this type of crime,” said the researcher.
Lesfem’s analysis indicates that, among nearly 7,000 attempted and completed femicide cases, the crime predominantly occurs within the intimate sphere (75%), meaning the aggressor is or was part of the victim’s inner circle, such as a partner, ex-partner, or the person with whom the victim has children. Most women were assaulted or killed in their own homes (38%) or in the couple’s residence (21%).
The largest proportion of victims (30%) were between 25 and 34 years old, with a median age of 33. Overall, at least 22 percent of the women had filed complaints against their aggressors before the femicide.
Most victims with known data (69%) had children or dependents. The survey also found that 101 victims were pregnant at the time of the violence, and 1,653 children were left orphaned by the perpetrators.
Regarding the perpetrators, the average age is 36 years. Most acted alone, with 94 percent of femicides committed by a single person, compared to 5 percent carried out by multiple individuals. As for the means used, almost half (48%) of the crimes involved a bladed weapon, such as a knife, sickle, or pocketknife.
In 7.91 percent of cases with known data, the suspect died following the femicide, with most deaths resulting from suicide. The suspect was arrested in at least 67 percent of cases with available information.
