The number of women who continue to live with their abusers after serious violent incidents fell from 32% in 2011 to 17% in 2025, according to the new edition of the National Violence Against Women Survey, conducted by DataSenado and Nexus. The current estimate is that 3.9 million Brazilian women are still living with their perpetrator – a percentage that researchers consider an indicator of a change in the cycle of domestic violence.
According to the survey, 12% of victims still live with the abuser, and 4% continue to live together in some way, even without sharing the same roof. In 2007, when questions about cohabitation began, 26% said they were still living with the person who raped them.
The research also highlights relevant differences between age groups. Among women over the age of 50, 16% are still living with their abuser. The rate decreases to 11% between 30 and 49 years of age and to 9% between 16 and 29 years of age.
This trend is repeated when the group is religious: 14% of Catholic women and 13% of Evangelical women stay with their abuser, compared to 8% of women with no religion.
The study reinforces the centrality of emotional relationships in violence against women. In 2025, 70% of serious assaults are committed by spouses, partners or friends. The percentage reached 58% in 2023 and 56% in 2021.
However, the breakdown of relationships after violence is increasing: in 79% of cases involving spouses or partners, the abuser is now an ex-partner. Among lovers, breakage rates reach 92%.
“The continuing decline in direct coexistence between victims and aggressors increases the breakdown of relational mobility after incidents of violence,” says Marcos Ruben de Oliveira, coordinator of DataSenado. “Although violence remains structural and persistent, the numbers indicate more frequent withdrawals, breaking long cycles of dependence.”
The 2025 edition conducted interviews with 21,641 women aged 16 years or older, via landline and cell phone, in all states of the country. The average margin of error is 0.69 percentage points, and the confidence level is 95%.
This study, created in 2005, became a reference for public policies related to the protection of women and supported, among other actions, the drafting of the María da Penha Law.
This is a percentage that researchers consider an indicator of change in the cycle of domestic violence
Current link: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access seven free accesses from any link per day. Just click on the blue letter F below.