Brazil – Increase in Digital Violence Against Black and LGBTI+ Women Seen as “An Attack on Democracy”

Marielle Francoo – Violence against Women

Stairs between Cristiano Viana Street and Cardeal Arcoverde Street made by a collective of artists and graffiti artists – Marlene Bergamo 14 Mar.2020/Folhapress

Two former police officers have been jailed in Brazil for the murder of Marielle Franco, a prominent left-wing politician killed in a drive-by shooting in 2018.

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Brazil is facing an alarming increase in digital violence directed at black, cis, trans and transvestite women, LGBTQIA+, peripheral women and human rights defenders. This is what the unprecedented research “Threat regime: political violence of gender and race in the digital sphere (2025)” reveals, presented by the Marielle Franco Institute (IMF) this week in Brasilia.

The data is revealing: 71% of the threats involved death or rape. Among the death threats, 63% evoked the murder of Marielle Franco, transforming the councilwoman’s political femicide into a symbol used to intimidate other black women who dare to dispute power.

The investigation, carried out in partnership with the Alziras Institute, the AzMina portal, the Vote LGBT collective, Internet LAB, as well as Justiça Global and Terra de Direitos, demonstrates that these attacks are not isolated cases: they are systemic, coordinated and strategic, with the aim of removing black women from public life.

“They are women who carry, in life and in struggle, the base that sustains this country, but they remain invisible. The violence that affects each of them is also violence against democracy,” said Luyara Franco, executive director of the IMF and Marielle’s daughter.

Articulation between political, digital and civil society entities is essential to combat violence

The research recommends the creation of a National Policy to Combat Gender and Race Political Violence, articulating the State, Legislature, civil society and digital platforms to ensure the protection of black women in politics.

For Luyara, the data leave no doubt:

“We want this publication to serve as a basis for concrete actions to protect and to hold aggressors and digital platforms accountable. Our commitment is to memory, justice and the construction of a country in which women can exist and compete for political spaces without fear.”

Created in 2019, the Marielle Franco Institute was born from the struggle for memory and justice, but also from a commitment to the future. By systematizing the attacks and exposing their political character, the IMF shows that defending black and LGBTI+ women is defending democracy itself.

WUNRN

Increase in digital violence against black and LGBTI+ women seen as “an attack on democracy” – Geledés