One person is murdered every 25 hours in Brazil according to a shocking annual survey conducted by the Gay Group of Bahia (GGB).
The 2016 survey found that 343 members of the LGBT community were killed in homophobic, biphobic or transphobic situations in the past 12 months.
173 gay men, 144 trans people, 10 lesbian and four bisexuals were killed alongside 12 straight victims.
The identified straight victims were shown to be in relationships with trans or bisexual people, or were related to the LGBT community.
Nearly half of the victims were killed by strangers, one-night0stands or clients if the victim was a sex worker.
The figures are not government official crime statistics because Brazil does not record crimes against the LGBT community which were motivated because of their identity.
The reports are compiled from publications across the country.
Luiz Mott, who collected the survey data, said: “These alarming numbers are the tip of an iceberg of violence and blood.
“Since there are no government statistics on hate crimes, they are always under-reported because our database is based on news published in the media, the internet and personal information.”
The survey, which has been going for 37 years, has shown that crimes against the LGBT community have been consistently growing.
2017 does not appear to break the stride either, as so far 23 LGBT people have been recorded as murdered.
PinkNews