RIO DE JANEIRO, June 20 -- Over 10,700 cases of femicide went unresolved in Brazil in 2017, despite the number of sentences doubling the same year, according to a report published Wednesday by the National Justice Council (CNJ).
In 2017, Brazilian courts passed down 4,829 sentences against femicides, more than double the 1,942 sentences seen in 2016, thanks "to the effort of judges to apply the law in cases of murders of women."
However, the CNJ warned that the total number of femicide cases could be larger, due to the difficulty of registering all crimes in a coordinated system, including those reported to police.
According to the report, the most common victims were women of African descent aged between 18 and 30.
The institution also pointed to other types of violence committed against women in Brazil.
"In 2017, regional courts dealt with 1,448,716 processes referring to domestic and family violence, equivalent to an average of 13.8 cases for every 1,000 Brazilians," the report said.
Last year, Brazilian courts resolved 540,000 cases of violence against women, but 908,000 such cases remained pending at the end of December.
According to Brazilian legislation, domestic violence against women includes physical and psychological aggressions at home by relatives, partners or anyone sharing the residence with the victim.
Psychological violence includes libel, slander or harm being made to the honor or reputation of the woman.
According to UN data, 40 percent of femicides in Latin America happen in Brazil.