Rio de Janeiro, May 27 (EFE).- The gang rape of a 16-year-old girl by more than 30 men in a Rio de Janeiro shantytown has sparked an outcry for justice on social networks and from Brazil’s political class, including suspended President Dilma Rousseff and interim head of state Michel Temer.

Thousands of Internet users have inundated Twitter with messages expressing indignation over the sexual assault, writing under the hashtag #EstuproNaoECulpaDaVitima (Rape is not the victim’s fault).

The attack came to light when video footage showing the minor naked and unconscious was uploaded to social networking sites, with the author of the recording saying the girl was raped by at least 30 people.

Temer on Friday vehemently denounced last weekend’s attack, saying it was absurd that “barbaric crimes like this” were still occurring in the 21st century.

Rousseff, who was suspended from office earlier this month and could be permanently removed if found guilty in a Senate trial of violating budget laws, demanded that those responsible be “identified and punished.”

Police have already identified four people who allegedly directly or indirectly participated in the gang rape but have not yet made any arrests.

The girl told police that she went to a “favela” on Rio’s west side early Saturday to visit her boyfriend.

She said she was alone with him for several hours, but later lost consciousness until Sunday, when she awoke naked, drugged and surrounded by 33 men armed with rifles and handguns.

The case has provoked debate in Brazil about the nation’s alleged “rape culture” and sparked numerous denunciations of the country’s “male chauvinist society” on both social networking sites and offline.

According to figures from the Public Safety Forum, a non-governmental organization, a woman is raped every 11 minutes in Brazil and 47,636 people were victims of sexual aggression in 2014.