The state of São Paulo registered 195 victims of femicide in 2022, the highest annual number since 2015, when the country began to typify crimes of this nature.

Since the beginning of the implementation of the law, the cities of São Paulo have registered more than a thousand murdered women, a mark surpassed in October of last year.

The number is now at 1,060 victims in the last eight years. Among the factors linked to the increase are the socioeconomic crisis of the post-pandemic scenario, the limitations of public policies to face the problem and the greater capacity to categorize crime in police stations, experts say.

The data were collected by the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo in the transparency panel of the State Secretariat for Public Security (SSP), last updated last Thursday (26), and reflect an escalation of violence against women in the state.

The statistics consider the typification of the crimes attributed in filling out police reports (BO). The nature of the first record can be changed throughout the investigation, according to the SSP.

Before this year’s record, the highest mark had been reported before the pandemic, in 2019, when 184 victims were registered in the state. The numbers for 2022 indicate an increase of 40% compared to the previous year: in 2021, during the covid-19 health crisis, São Paulo reported 140 cases.

Coordinator of the Women’s Defense Police Stations (DDM), delegate Jamila Jorge Ferrari points out two common denominators in cases of feminicide: the aggressor, in most cases, is the victim’s partner and domestic violence precedes the fatality.

“Femicide is unlikely to happen as the first aggression,” he says. “These are women who are financially dependent on their partner, or who, if they work, don’t need to leave the house,” she says.

Questioned about the escalation of crimes, the delegate says that the police are evaluating the factors involved. “It is worrying and we are following up as an institution.”

According to her, the feeling of impunity can contribute to the discharge. Another important demand, she adds, is to make public agents and the victims themselves even more aware of the need to refer or seek protection networks.

Place

The statistics reinforce what is perceived in the police stations. SSP data point to housewives as the most victimized since 2015, corresponding to 107 of the 588 occurrences where it was possible to identify the profession — approximately 18% of cases.

The place with the highest volume of crimes is also connected to the home. Of the 1,060 women murdered in the state, 703 lost their lives in their homes, equivalent to two thirds of the cases in the state of São Paulo.