Tendência temporal e análise espacial da mortalidade de mulheres por arma de fogo no Brasil, período 2010-2019

Abstract

Introduction: Feminicide is characterized as the murder of women as a result of gender inequality. In Brazil, these crimes are mainly committed in places with higher rates of poverty and social vulnerability. The highest incidence of these crimes takes place among young, brown and single women, with less education and low income, and they are preferably carried out using firearms. Objective: To analyze the temporal trend and spatial distribution of female firearm-related mortality and socioeconomic indicators in Brazil from 2010 to 2019. Methodology: This is a population-based ecological study with temporal trend and spatial distribution, based on secondary data from the Mortality Information System (SIM, as per its Portuguese acronym). The outcome variable considered here was the firearm-related mortality rate among women aged between 15 and 49. The independent variables, such as marital status, race/color and education, were also collected from Mortality Information System, while the other variables, such as average per capita income, percentage of poor people, Gini index, population of women with low income, illiteracy, income and unemployment, were obtained from Atlas of Human Development in Brazil from the United Nations Development Program. The data was analyzed using JoinPoint and Geoda open-source software. Preliminary Results: It was found that there were 2,022 deaths of women due to firearms in Brazil in the age group between 15 and 49 years during the period from 2010 to 2019, totaling an average rate of 0.36 deaths/100,000 women. During this period, there was a downward trend in these mortality rates from 2017 onwards (APC= -11.8% 95% CI -44.2; 39.5), but without statistical significance for most regions. Only the Mid-West Region showed a statistically significant reduction from 2010 to 2014 (APC = -41.9*% 95%CI -64.7; -4.3). However, the North Region had the opposite result, with an increase in statistical significance from 2013 onwards (APC = 23.5* 95%CI 0.4; 51.9). During this period, clusters of Intermediate Urban Articulation Regions with high mortality rates were formed for the North and Northeast regions, with the formation of the respective clusters (High-High and Low-High). The highest occurrence of these crimes was among young, brown and single women, with less education and low income. Final Considerations of the Work: Even though the country is showing a downward trend in femicides due to firearms in most regions, the numbers are still lower than desired, with a wide distribution, particularly in the most socially and economically disadvantaged populations, such as the North and Northeast regions. It is therefore necessary to strengthen and restructure public policies aimed at protecting women and considering the social and economic context in which they live.