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Reports of Digital Violence Against Women Jump 188% in Brazil

The surge has prompted updates to the Ligue 180 service, a national awareness campaign, and a presidential decree that forces platforms to remove nonconsensual intimate images within two hours.

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Overview

  • The Ministry of Women said data released Monday showed Ligue 180 received 16,725 reports of digital violence from January to May 2026, up from 5,795 in the same period of 2025.
  • Ligue 180 is Brazil’s central hotline for gender violence and the government updated its intake form to cover crimes such as virtual rape, stalking, account takeover, nonconsensual sharing of intimate images, online extortion and AI-manipulated images.
  • About 350 Ligue 180 attendants were trained in June to help callers preserve digital evidence, contact platforms and refer cases to police, and the ministry launched the national campaign 'O Digital é Nosso Lugar' to publicize the changes.
  • Presidential decree 12.976/2026 took effect in mid‑June and sets platform duties including a two-hour target to remove nonconsensual intimate images and the requirement to treat AI‑generated 'deep nudes' the same as real photos.
  • The ministry’s figures show unequal harms: nearly half of past victims identified as Black and many have low or no income, and officials say better reporting likely reflects reduced underreporting while a bill to criminalize misogyny remains pending in Congress.