Latest research out of Brazil shows once again the country continues to have the highest murder rate for LGBT people in the world.

The Gay Group of Bahia has for 30 years been compiling and publishing statistics on LGBT deaths in the South American country and the latest report shows that there were 338 murders of LGBT people in 2012, including 2 trans Brazilians in Italy.

The figures breakdown into 188 gay men, 128 trans, 19 lesbians and 2 bisexuals.

It means roughly that one LGBT person is murdered every 26 hours in the country.

In these 338 cases, only 89 offenders were found; in the remaining 73% cases there were no arrests.

The total for 2012 is 21% higher than in 2011 – where 266 cases were recorded.

Often the police in Brazil refuse to accept that they are faced with a homophobic or transphobic crime.

Brazilian activists are calling for tougher hate crime legislation and for both crimes to be treated as seriously as racist crime.

Recorded murders in Brazil’s trans community are particularly high because trans people in the country are often forced into prostitution to make a living and therefore especially vulnerable to street violence.