PREVALENCE OF RAPE IN BRAZIL: A SURVEY FOCUSED ON INVISIBLE CASES FROM 2017 TO 2021

Abstract

Rape consists of constraining an individual, through violence or serious threat, to perform a carnal conjunction or to practice or allow another libidinous act to be performed with him. The objective of the research was to demonstrate the prevalence of cases left blank from 2017 to 2021 in Brazilian territory. This is an ecological study with a quantitative approach to the prevalence of rape in Brazil from 2017 to 2021, focusing on cases left blank. Data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) contained in the Information Technology Department of the Unified Health System (DATASUS) was used for research. Inclusion criteria were the frequency of rape according to the region notified in the SINAN. Those registered in the years before January 2017 and in the years after December 2021 were excluded from the survey. In Brazil, from 2017 to 2021, 18.59% of cases of potential rape were left blank. The percentages of cases left blank by region in descending order were 26% in the Southeast, 21% in the Northeast, 15% in the Midwest, 7.5% in the South and 7% in the North. These percentages of cases left unchecked are worrisome, as they make it impossible to identify which cases were rape and which were not. This leads to the reflection that people who may have been victims of rape, but were registered as blank cases, did not have the proper management and professional assistance.