Every 25 hours an LGBT+ person is killed in Brazil, according to a new survey.
The Gay Group of Bahia (GGB) - the country’s oldest gay rights group - says that in 2016 they registered 343 deaths of LGBT+ individuals.
This includes 173 gay men, 144 transgender people, 10 lesbians and 4 bisexuals.
12 of the victims were straight, and were killed for either being in a relationship with a bisexual or transgender person, or for assisting the LGBT+ community.
The GGB’s annual report also accounted for suicides that were motivated by discrimination against gender identity or sexual orientation.
Luiz Mott founded the GGB in 1980 and collected the survey data for the 2016 report. He says the “alarming numbers” are just the tip of the iceberg.
“Since there are no government statistics on hate crimes, they are always under-reported because our database is based on news published in the media, the internet and personal information.”
Mott also runs the blog which translates to, ‘Whom has homophobia killed today?'. The site collates reports of LGBT+ murders and says that the more homophobic crimes are accurately reported and published, the sooner the tragedies can end.
Just last month, ain Sao Paulo was allegedly killed by his own mother for being gay.
The Human Rights Campaign has previously reported on the that the LGBT+ community faces in Brazil, particularly transgender women.
The GGB’s report has been published annually for the last 37 years and show that violence against the LGBT+ has been steadily increasing.
So far, 23 LGBT+ people have already died in Brazil this year.
