Double Violence Against Women in the Amazon

Double Violence
Against Women
in the Amazon

The Amazon is a region marked by numerous socio-environmental conflicts and intense pressures due to the overlap of legal and illegal economic activities. This situation leads to fierce disputes over land, water resources, and natural resources, directly impacting biodiversity and local populations.

Conflicts in Amazon:

1,046

Brazil
(2022)

25

Colombia

(active socio-environmental conflicts)

44

Peru

(active socio-environmental conflicts)

In this context, women have suffered much more violence in areas marked by land disputes and the use of land and water than in other regions of the country. They are disproportionately affected and face threats and reprisals both for their activism in defense of the biome and due to the environment of normalized violence and gender inequality.

Since 2021, the Igarapé Institute has been mapping the impacts of this scenario on women’s lives, including physical and psychological aspects. The data on Brazil, Colombia, and Peru reveal that violence against women in the Amazon Basin is almost double that recorded in the rest of each of the three countries.

In the Amazon, the homicide rate of women exceeds the average of the rest of the country by:

48%

80%

27%

Fonte: CEDOC Dom Tomás Balduino – CPT.

Os conflitos na região amazônica têm diversos atores – os fazendeiros são os principais responsáveis, seguidos pelo governo federal
e grileiros.

Fonte: CEDOC Dom Tomás Balduino – CPT.

Atualmente, existem 25 conflitos socioambientais ativos, envolvendo atividades econômicas como mineração, agropecuária e exploração de resíduos florestais.

Fonte: Instituto Igarapé. Base de conflitos socioambientais construída a partir de dados do SINCHI e Indepaz.

Em 2022, o estado de Meta enfrentou a maior incidência de conflitos socioambientais, totalizando 7 casos ativos, seguido por Caquetá, Guaviare e Putumayo, cada um com 5 ocorrências registradas. Uma análise mais aprofundada revela que os municípios mais afetados são San Jose del Guaviare (Guaviare) e La Macarena (Meta). Nessas regiões, estão em curso processos de apropriação e utilização de terras em áreas protegidas, incluindo o Parque Nacional Chiribiquete e o Parque Nacional Natural Tinigua.

Em 2022, a Amazônia peruana registrou 44 conflitos socioambientais ativos. Cerca de 85% estão relacionados à exploração de petróleo e à mineração, abrangendo tanto atividades legais quanto ilegais.

Fonte: Defensoría del Pueblo de Perú (2022). Relatório de conflitos sociais 2022-2004. Dados fornecidos mediante solicitação do Instituto Igarapé.

21 desses conflitos ocorrem no estado de Loreto, seguido por Pasco com 5, Amazonas e Junín com 4 cada um, e Madre de Dios com 2. Em Loreto, destacam-se os casos de derramamentos de petróleo, além de contaminação da água, que também afetam a província de Datem del Marañon. Tanto Pasco quanto Madre de Dios são cenários de conflitos envolvendo empresas mineradoras, enquanto Madre de Dios ainda enfrenta atividades de mineração ilegal na Reserva Nacional de Tambopata e na zona de La Pampa.

Em geral, falta às instituições públicas dados que revelem o impacto desproporcional dos conflitos na vida das mulheres. Isso decorre da falta de registros que vinculem as violências sofridas a esses conflitos e da subnotificação, uma vez que as agressões contra mulheres nesses contextos muitas vezes têm dinâmicas específicas e podem ser cometidas por membros do mesmo grupo. Adicionalmente, dados dos sistemas de saúde dos países analisados mostram resultados alarmantes. Nos três países estudados, a violência contra mulheres na Amazônia é quase o dobro da registrada no restante dos países.

Os índices de violência e assassinatos de mulheres em áreas marcadas por disputas e conflitos pela posse e uso das terras e águas são maiores quando comparados às áreas sem conflitos.

Homicide rate in Brazil

Legal Amazon vs. the Rest of the Country (2000-2021)

Source: Homicide Deaths. Mortality Information System – SIM. Ministry of Health.

Homicide rate in Colombia

Amazon Region vs. the Rest of the Country (2001-2021)

Source: Homicides – Vital Statistics of Colombia. Administrative Department of Statistics – DANE.

Homicide rate in Peru

Amazon Region vs. the Rest of the Country (2017-2022)

Source: Ministry of Health of Peru (2023). SINADEF: Death Certificates. National Open Data Platform.

Specifically for sexual violence, the Brazilian Amazon shows a rate 30% higher than in the rest of the country

Non-Lethal Violence Rate - Legal Amazon vs. the Rest of the Country (2022)

Source: General Coordination of Surveillance of Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Promotion, Department of Surveillance of Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Promotion. DATASUS Platform – File Transfer.

Non-Lethal Violence Rate - Amazon Region vs. the Rest of the Country (2022)

Source: SIVIGILA Cases of gender-based violence attended by the health system reported to the Public Health Surveillance System SIVIGILA – National Institute of Health, provided upon request.

Non-Lethal Violence Rate - Amazon Region vs. the Rest of the Country (2022)

Source: Cases attended at the Women’s Emergency Centers – CEM. National Program for the Prevention and Eradication of Violence against Women and Family Group Members – AURORA. Statistical Portal.

Although all three countries face challenges in implementing policies to combat violence against women, the need for an intersectional approach is evident. Such an approach should consider the diversity of Amazonian women in their respective territories. Only with this perspective can policies be planned and executed that will significantly impact the reduction of violence against women across their varied realities.

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Challenges and
recommendations
for the Amazon

In this report, we present the perspective of defenders of the Brazilian Amazon basin on their experiences and proposals for the conflicts in the region.

Defenders of
the Amazon

In the Amazon, women endure various forms of violence that leave scars on both their bodies and spirits when they rise up to combat the illegal exploitation of the forest’s natural resources, the invasion of their lands, and the expropriation of their communities.

Climate
Security

The Climate Security program of Igarapé Institute aims to strengthen public and corporate policies in a way that they prioritize the relationship between these two areas. It means preventing the destruction of the environment and lives.