Reeling from an alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl by more than 30 men, which was videotaped and posted to social media, thousands of protesters rallied across Brazil to "End Brazilian Machismo."
As many as 5,000 people flooded the streets of Rio de Janeiro chanting "Mess with one, mess with us all," showing support for the survivor.
"We are not here to say it was 33 against one, it was 33 against all of us," one protester said. "We will not put up with the culture of machismo; the patriarchy which imposes rape, fear and a life of violence."
Rio de Janeiro Police have arrested two men allegedly involved with the crime and have issued search warrants for four more.
One of the alleged assailants posted the video to social media, which shows the victim naked in a bed, surrounded by about 30 men bragging about how they gang raped her.
UN Women, a division of the UN dedicated to gender equality, highlighted another recent and similar case where a teenage victim was reportedly drugged and raped by men in the in the northern state of Piaui. The organization condemned the attacks in a statement released Sunday and they urged authorities to protect the integrity and dignity of the victims.
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“We encourage a profound and urgent reflection regarding the culture of impunity and tolerance of aggression, the cultural values and negative masculinity models that underpin these incidents, that reproduce and endorse acts of aggression, domination and violence against women and girls,” the statement reads.
According to the Brazilian Forum for Public Security says 47,636 rapes were reported to police in Brazil in 2014 and 5,676 in Rio de Janeiro. The forum estimates that only 35 percent of rape cases are reported.
