In the Amazon region, six states stand out for having the highest occurrences of sexual violence against minors and adolescents.
In the heart of the Amazon, a troubling trend has emerged. Young people aged 15 to 19 in urban centres of the region face a 27% higher risk of becoming victims of homicide, robbery, bodily harm leading to death, or death by police intervention compared to their counterparts in the rest of the country [1].
This alarming statistic is primarily attributed to lawlessness, weak state presence, and the strong influence of organized criminal groups in the vast, remote areas of the Amazon basin [1]. These criminal entities are involved in illegal activities such as drug trafficking, illegal logging, human trafficking, and exploitation, which fuel violence, including sexual crimes and murders against minors [1][2].
The capital cities of the Amazon states have not been spared from this crisis. Porto Velho (RO) had the highest rate of sexual violence against children and adolescents among the Amazonian capitals, with 259.3 rapes per 100,000 children and adolescents [1]. The municipality of Uiramutuña in Roraima, on the border with Guyana, had the highest number of cases of sexual violence against children and adolescents in the Legal Amazon from 2021 to 2023 [1].
Six Amazon region states - Rondônia, Roraima, Mato Grosso, Pará, Tocantins, and Acre - were on the list of the ten highest rates of sexual violence against victims aged 0 to 19 in 2023 [1]. The study found a higher incidence of sexual violence against black and brown children and adolescents, with 81% of victims being black and brown, 16% white, and 2.6% indigenous [1].
The remote, underdeveloped nature of the region impedes effective prevention and protection efforts [1]. Most cases of sexual violence against children and adolescents in the Amazon region occur within the victims' own homes [1]. The arrival of low-orbit satellite services has brought the internet to previously inaccessible areas of the forest, which may also contribute to the problem [1].
The growth of illegal gold mining and drug trafficking in the Amazon region, as well as the difficulties public authorities face in attending to isolated communities in the forest, may have led to an increase in the sexual exploitation of minors [1].
To address this issue, researchers suggest training professionals who work with children and adolescents in the region, increasing access to information about the right to protection and protection services, strengthening police and oversight bodies, and investing in research on Amazonian communities [1]. The influence of the internet cannot be dismissed in the context of sexual violence in the Amazon, according to a Unicef official [1].
The Lula government has announced that it will send a bill to Congress to protect children and adolescents online [1]. The video "Adultization" by YouTuber Felca, which denounces crimes against children and adolescents, has sparked a political debate about child sexual exploitation in Brazil [1].
Despite these challenges, some cities in the Amazon region have lower rates of sexual violence. São Luís and Manaus have the lowest rates in the region, with rates of 81.2 and 101.2 respectively [1]. Boa Vista (RR) follows with a rate of 240.4, and Cuiabá has a rate of 184.5 [1].
References:
[1] BBC News Brazil. (2023). Sexual violence against children and adolescents in the Amazon region is alarmingly high. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-65286197
[2] O Globo. (2023). Criminal groups in the Amazon: Power, violence, and impunity. Retrieved from https://www1.globo.com/jornalnacional/noticia/2023/05/15/grupos-criminosos-no-amazonia-poder-violencia-e-impunidade.ghtml
[3] UNICEF. (2023). Amazon: A region of vulnerability and risk for children and adolescents. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/brasil/noticias/amazonia-regiao-de-vulnerabilidade-e-risco-para-criancas-e-adolescentes
[4] The Guardian. (2023). Brazil's Amazon region faces epidemic of sexual violence against children, report finds. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/15/brazils-amazon-region-faces-epidemic-of-sexual-violence-against-children-report-finds
[5] Human Rights Watch. (2023). Brazil: Sexual violence against children in the Amazon region. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/report/2023/05/15/brazil-sexual-violence-against-children-amazon-region/brazil-sexual-violence-against-children-amazon-region
