Brazil: Criminal accountability for sexual violence against girls must be guaranteed

May 13, 2025

Washington D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expresses concern over judicial decisions that could exempt criminal responsibility in certain cases of sexual violence of girls and adolescents. Brazil must uphold criminal accountability for sexual violence cases involving adolescents under 14 years old and adult offenders, without exceptions related to consent, subsequent marital cohabitation, or the birth of a child as a result of sexual violence.

Over the past two years, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) of Brazil has issued four decisions that affect thecountry's legal safeguards for children under the age of 14. By introducing exceptions to the absolute presumption of non-consent in cases of sexual violence, these rulings have considered as mitigating or exculpatory factors circumstances such as the perpetrator having recently turned 18, the subsequent establishment of a marital relationship, or the pregnancy of the victim. On April 3, the Court reaffirmed this interpretative approach.

These developments undermine the clarity and protective purpose of Brazil's legislative framework, which unequivocally classifies any sexual act with a person under 14 as rape. The ruling is particularly concerning given official data reporting 822,000 rapes annually, and sexual violence accounting for 49.6% of all violations suffered by girls aged 10 to 14.

According to international human rights standards, States have an obligation to protect children from all forms of sexual abuse, including the inducement of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity. The Belém do Pará Convention establishes specific and reinforced obligations for the prevention, punishment, and eradication of sexual violence against girls and adolescents. Within the Inter-American System, it has been established that valid consent to a sexual act is vitiated when there is an abuse of power or when the victim lacks the capacity to fully understand the nature of the act. In such cases, invoking the victim's social behavior or prior sexual experience as a justification constitutes gender-based discrimination and reinforces harmful stereotypes.

The Court's jurisprudence adds to a series of positions from specialized bodies such as the MESECVI, CEDAW Committee, Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF, which call on States to establish a minimum age for sexual consent, that disregards any supposed consent or prior sexual experience of the child. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child considers that allowing sexual relations from the age of 13 would provide insufficient protection. Most Latin American and Caribbean countries set the minimum age at 14, with narrow exceptions for consensual relationships involving close-in-age adolescents without abuse of power. UNICEF recommends that such exemption should be limited to a maximum of three years gap.

The Commission calls on the Brazilian State – particularly judicial authorities – to reconsider jurisprudential interpretations that weaken legal protections for children and to ensure that any debate on close-in-age exceptions, in the absence of abuse of power, is addressed strictly within the framework of juvenile justice. It further urges the State to strengthen comprehensive, intersectional, and human rights-based public policies to prevent and respond to sexual violence against children.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate derives from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is composed of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 101/25

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