Brazil sees sharp rises in LGBT, femicide and stalking crimes in 2025‑2026

LGBT violence stalking women femicide Brazil sexual harassment Rio police lethality

National crime data show a marked increase in gender‑based and LGBT‑related offenses across Brazil. The 2026 Brazilian Public Security Yearbook reported a 35.6% rise in hate‑motivated racism cases linked to homophobia or transphobia between 2024 and 2025, highlighting gaps in reporting and the lack of a standardized recording system.

Stalking against women jumped in several states: Acre recorded 281 cases in 2025, up 16.6% from the previous year, while Paraíba saw a roughly 40% increase, reaching 2,147 incidents in 2025. The same report noted that Brazil as a whole logged more than 123,000 stalking reports.

Violent deaths of women also climbed. Paraíba registered 19 femicides in the first half of 2026, averaging about three per month, and the state’s total femicide count for 2025 matched the record set in 2019 with 36 victims. Conversely, the municipality of Olinda reported zero femicide cases during several months of 2026 and reduced overall violence against women to 177 incidents in June.

Rio de Janeiro documented 2,723 cases of sexual harassment (importunação sexual) against women in 2025, with women comprising roughly 90% of victims. In Minas Gerais, the city of Araguari posted the highest intentional violent‑death rate among municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants, at 38.9 deaths per 100,000 residents in 2025.

Separately, a study of police operations in the Baixada Fluminense showed a dramatic rise in lethality: the death rate in police actions jumped from 2% in 2024 to 18% in 2025, despite a reduction in the number of operations.

Entities: Acre · Brazil · Olinda · Paraíba · Rio de Janeiro

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[○ 1 SOURCE] Stalking cases against women in Acre rose from 240 in 2024 to 281 in 2025, a 16.6% increase. (a7fead93-64b3-45c4-a0e4-18f5d0147682)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Violence against LGBT people in Brazil increased by 35.6% between 2024 and 2025. (7c1dda38-13d7-4a0a-8015-07106bfdb78a)
[● 3 SOURCES] Paraíba had 19 femicide victims in the first half of 2026, averaging three per month. (Ministry of Justice and Public Security data)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Stalking incidents against women in Paraíba increased by roughly 40% from 1,534 in 2024 to 2,147 in 2025. (cacfb215-d38d-403d-9a0e-e37a9a1ccb9d)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Violence against LGBT people in Brazil suffers from under‑reporting due to lack of standardized data collection across states. (Brazilian Public Security Yearbook 2026 analysis)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Rio de Janeiro recorded 2,723 cases of sexual harassment against women in 2025, representing about 90% of victims. (Dossiê Mulher study)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Brazil recorded 1,571 femicide cases in 2025, a 4% rise over 2024 and an average of four women killed per day. (Brazilian Public Security Yearbook 2026)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Olinda recorded zero femicide cases in several months of 2026 and reduced total recorded violence against women to 177 in June. (Olinda municipal report)
[● 3 SOURCES] Paraíba recorded 19 femicides in the first half of 2026, averaging about three per month. (e95ea0a2-4d3d-4cff-9035-95403a8347ce)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Olinda reported zero femicide cases during several months of 2026 and total recorded violence against women fell to 177 in June. (32a10443-3fd5-43a5-95b0-7ec537743263)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Police lethality in Baixada Fluminense rose from 2% in 2024 to 18% in 2025 despite a decrease in the number of operations. (f062f621-cfd4-4156-922c-befbdc7444d6)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Araguari had the highest intentional violent death rate among Brazilian municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants in 2025, at 38.9 deaths per 100,000 residents. (71d06618-9ad6-47fd-9510-31e9ad954812)