SP records 141 feminicides in the first half of the year and reaches the highest level in the historical series

The notifications take into account the number of cases and not the number of victims, which may be higher if there is more than one death in the same incident - this number of victims was not disclosed. Overall, intentional homicides of men and women fell.

The increase in femicides in 2026 was driven by the interior of the state, which registered 96 police reports from January to June, compared to 70 in the previous year.

In the city of São Paulo, the trend was reversed: cases fell from 31 to 24 in the semester. The total number still includes the metropolitan region (with a drop from 27 to 21).

The government of Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) highlighted that, in June alone, records in the state fell from 21 to 17. In the capital, the number of femicides in June fell from four to three.

The Feminicide Law was sanctioned in 2015, but the SSP historical series only began to be recorded in 2018.

Before the change in legislation, these crimes were generally recorded as homicides. With the change, gender-based murders began to be counted separately, with the aim of monitoring the evolution of incidents more closely and helping to formulate protection policies, according to the government.

According to the law, gender reasons are understood as disregarding or discriminating against the condition of women, in addition to situations involving domestic and family violence.

Experts highlight that, in part, the number of femicides has increased due to the police's better ability to classify the crime. In general, homicides of women have shown a decline in the country. On the other hand, they point out that the country has observed an intensification of gender-based violence, visible in crimes committed within homes and which can culminate in feminicide.

Cases in the state have grown gradually and consecutively since the beginning of the historical series, when 57 deaths were recorded in 2018.

"Combating violence against women requires qualified investigation, humanized reception and integrated action with the entire protection network", says in a note the coordinator of women's defense police stations in the state, delegate Cristiane Braga.

"Each complaint received is an opportunity to interrupt the cycle of violence and prevent risky situations from evolving into more serious crimes", he adds.

National data from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook released last week show that, for every femicide registered in Brazil in 2025, 502 cases of threat, 182 physical assaults and 79 crimes of persecution against women were recorded.

The proportion helps to measure the escalation of violence that may precede murder for gender reasons, experts highlight. Every day, the country records, on average, four femicides and more than 2,000 threats against women.

Last year, 1,571 were victims of femicide, the highest number in the historical series, according to the 20th Brazilian Public Security Yearbook. The national rate was 1.4 victims of femicide for each group of 100 thousand women.

In crimes that appear on the previous steps of this escalation, the rates were much higher: 720.9 records of threats, 261.7 of intentional bodily harm in the context of domestic violence, 113.3 of stalking and 55.6 of psychological violence for every 100 thousand women.

In March, Folha had access to eight police reports and investigations from this year and reconstructed the stories of some of the victims in the country's largest city.

The cases repeat some patterns that highlight gender-based violence, such as the perpetration by partners and ex-companions, the escalation of brutality that ended in death and the family's pain in the face of loss.

Mara Maravilha asks for justice after cousin is killed in Bahia

Mara Maravilha lamented the murder of her cousin Cláudia Félix, asked for justice and stated that she will follow the investigations. The lawyer was killed inside her home, in Itororó, southwest of Bahia, after receiving threats related to a debt owed to a family member