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In 2022, the state of Bahia reported the largest number of homicides in Brazil. That year, homicides were recorded in this northeastern state. Bahia was followed by the state of Rio de Janeiro, with murders reported. Despite that, the number of homicides in Brazil reached the lowest figure that year since at least 2006, totaling *.Ìý

Homicide targets

Data shows that homicides affected men disproportionaly more than women in this South American country. Considering the over * homicides registered in Brazil in 2022, nearly ** percent had men as victims. Again, it is important to remember the deterioration of data quality, specially in the case of femicides: there was a woman victim of violent death with no clear cause for every woman victim of homicide in Brazil. In that regard, the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Rondônia had the highest femicide rates. At least of every 100,000 women who lived in those territories were murdered on account of their gender in 2023. Not only women, but the number of black and brown people murdered in Brazil had been growing throughout the years up until 2017, revealing that minorities are increasingly becoming the targets of violence. In 2022, nearly *people of color were killed in Brazil, over times the number of non-black or non-brown people.

Police Violence

Police brutality has been gaining attention from the media, especially after George Floyd violent death in 2020. In Brazil, police violence, particularly in poor areas, such as favelas, is an old and well-known problem that affects society as a whole. Figures have shown that the number of civilians killed by police officers in Brazil surpassed in both 2021 and 2022. Coincidentally, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, the Brazilian states with the highest number of homicides, are also the ones with the highest number of people killed by the police. In Rio, the state with the second-highest figure, people of color were the main victims of deadly police interventions.