Teenagers, violence and crime in Brazil

One can not speak of violence in Brazil and its increases since 1980 without mentioning the population that it harms: the young. Reports that have been dedicated to analyzing the victims of homicide in the country since 1980 have reached a dramatic conclusion: the cause of increased violence in the country is due to the riseof homicides among young people. Studies carried out by Instituto Sangari show a dramatic and permanent increase in cases of homicide among people between 12 and 24 years of age. While in 1980 the homicide rate among youths between 15 and 24 years of age was 30.0 per 100,000, in 2007 that number had grown to 50.1. The rate of homicides among older people, however, remained stable. In the past 20 years homicides among youths have almost doubled, which positions Brazil as 6th in the international ranking of countries with the highest homicide rates among youths in the World Health Organization Statistical Information System (WHOSIS).