A/HRC/59/62/Add.1 26. The shocking scale of femicide in Brazil is reflective of a deeply troubling reality. According to a survey by the Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública, between 2015 and 2023 10,600 women were victims of femicide, many of whom were killed in the context of domestic violence.9 Domestic violence levels are high in Brazil, with 258,941 reported cases in 2023.10 Women of African descent make up the majority of femicide cases, with those who are also part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community often being particularly vulnerable. Femicide among white women is reportedly decreasing, while femicide among women of African descent is increasing.11 The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the high levels of femicide of Indigenous women and adolescent girls, including in Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as cases of femicide of Quilombola women. 27. Sexual violence and rape are worryingly prevalent among women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups. The Fórum Brasileiro de Segurança Pública reported the highest ever number of rapes in 2023, at 83,988 cases. 12 Women and especially girls of African descent were significantly disproportionally affected by the horrifying levels of sexual violence, according to the data. 13 Indigenous and Quilombola women are also reportedly affected by high levels of rape in Brazil. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the fact that the President of Brazil has declared that combating violence against women is a priority for his administration and that some robust legal protections, including the “Maria da Penha” Law, on domestic violence, and provisions of the Criminal Code, are now in place. She is nevertheless concerned about reported gaps and challenges in the implementation of relevant laws, including differences between rural and urban areas, as clearly demonstrated by the latest statistics. 28. The impact of rape on the lives of women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups can be exacerbated by the lack of adequate access to reproductive health rights, particularly the right to safe and legal abortion. Abortion is criminalized in all but very limited circumstances, namely in cases of rape, fetal anencephaly and risk to the life of the pregnant woman. Even under such circumstances, many women and girls face significant barriers to accessing safe and legal abortion, including social stigmatization and difficulties in accessing the necessary medical services, as exemplified by a horrifying case in Santa Catarina, in 2022. The case involved public officials, including a judge, who tried to pressure an 11-year-old girl of African descent into continuing a pregnancy resulting from rape, despite the fact that the circumstances fell within the legally permissible grounds for termination. 14 Severe legal restrictions on safe and legal abortion and barriers to accessing relevant medical services under legally permissible circumstances are forcing women to resort to unsafe abortions. This is leading to preventable deaths among women, in contravention of international human rights law provisions that protect the right to life. The Special Rapporteur received troubling reports that a disproportionate number of the women who tragically lose their lives in these circumstances are from marginalized racial and ethnic groups. 29. Significant barriers to accessing safe and legal abortion coexist with high levels of maternal mortality among women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups due to factors including lack of adequate access to safe and inclusive prenatal and postnatal care. The Special Rapporteur received concerning reports about disproportionately high levels of obstetric violence against women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, including those experiencing intersectional discrimination on the basis of race compounded by discrimination based on other grounds, such as socioeconomic status, migrant or refugee status, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex status, and disability. This places many Brazilian women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups in a paradoxical and 9 10 11 12 13 14 8 See https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/direitos-humanos/noticia/2024-03/brazil-records-10600femicides-eight-years. For more information, see https://forumseguranca.org.br/publicacoes/anuario-brasileiro-de-segurancapublica/. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. See https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/25/judge-tries-block-abortion-11-year-old-rape-survivorbrazil. GE.25-06011