How should one evaluate Brazil’s position (3rd) in the ranking of 84 countries in youth homicide?
For those outside this specific age bracket, that is, for children younger than 15 and young adults over 24 years old, the homicide rates do not show significant changes from the 1980s to today. In 1980 the rate was 21.3 for each 100,000 inhabitant outside this age bracket. The number fell to 18.1 per 100,000 in 1990 and went up to 20.8 per 100,000 in 2000. But in the 18-24 year old range, the numbers were already larger and increased a lot more in the same period. In 1980 the rate was about 30 homicides per 100,000; in 1990 it grew to 38 per 100,000 and in 2004 reached 51.7 homicides per 100,000 young inhabitants. The history of violence in the country involves the extermination of Brazil’s youth. It is not exactly a problem of homicide, but a problem of youth. As long as the problems of young people in Brazil are not tackled, and education, culture and work are not offered, this situation will not change. Rio de Janeiro leads the national ranking in youth homicides. Certainly drug tr
