Living in the shadow of armed violence

In 2022, Brazil’s homicide rate rose to 23.4 people for every 100,000. That’s 47,508 murders. In many towns, armed groups are clashing with police and security forces or fighting among themselves over territory and local economic resources.

For the people living there, the effects are profound. Some are obvious, like the number of people wounded and killed, but others are more subtle, like the disappearances, the people forced from their homes, the deterioration in mental health, and the lack of access to essential public services like health care and schooling.