Armed Violence Reduction Programming in Brazil

Brazil presents levels of armed violence that are higher than in countries at war. Several factors have contributed to the increase of armed violence since the 80s, namely urbanization, an absence of public policies that address the needs of those in the risk group of violence, the lack of control over and availability of small arms, and weak and corrupt public security institutions.

Despite the challenges, local and national initiatives have demonstrated that it is possible to control and reduce armed violence if the multifaceted and interlinked nature of armed violence is taken into consideration when designing projects and public policies. Credible health and police data are essential to inform and guide these interventions.

This background paper aims to analyze the impact of Brazil’s Gun Law, known as the Disarmament Statue (enacted the 22nd of December, 2003), the National Framework Law created to directly address the main instruments of armed violence in the country: small arms. The Statute strengthens the capabilities of public security institutions, improving data collection and SALW control. This paper additionally aims to show the key role that information plays in designing, monitoring and evaluating programs for the reduction of armed violence.

Armed Violence in Brazil

Armed violence is one of the most pressing health, development and security issues that Brazil faces today.  The country has the highest recorded number of firearm related deaths of any country in the world, including those at war. In 2004, 36 091 people in Brazil were killed by firearms. Of those, 91% were attributed to Homicides, 5% to unknown causes, 3% to Suicide and 1% to Accidental deaths.

The cost of violence in the country has been estimated in 10.5% of GDP  and the annual costs of hospitalization due to firearm related injuries in the Public Health sector is estimated to be between 36 and 39 million dollars.

Such levels of armed violence are a recent phenomenon in Brazil, beginning in the 80s and rapidly escalating, reaching alarming proportions from the mid-90s onwards. Gun violence rates have tripled over the two past decades, from 7.2 per 100 000 inhabitants in 1982 to 21.2 in 2002 (Figure 1).  Armed violence has simultaneously spread geographically throughout the country, more heavily impacting the country’s metropolitan regions and medium-sized cities.

The increase in armed violence has been associated to the rapid and unplanned urbanization that occurred during the second half of the 20th century in Brazil, as in several other Latin American countries. In 1950, 70% of the population lived in rural areas and by 2000 this figure had decreased to less than 20% .

A 2002 study about violence in 5507 Brazilian municipalities demonstrates the relationship between armed violence and urbanization . Inequality is not only present in the country’s income distribution , but also in its distribution of levels of violence.

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Armed violence programming in Brazil, the full article in PDF

*The author, Ilona Szabo de Carvalho is Coordinator of Viva Rio's Human Security Project