Brazil has a growing number of norms seeking to restrict the rights of transgender people. According to a survey by Folha, there are at least 77 municipal and state anti-trans laws in force in 18 federal units—more than a third of them came into effect last year.
Proponents of these laws deny that they are anti-trans, stating that they help protect the rights of children and women and safeguard religious freedom. On the other hand, experts argue that these norms promote the institutionalization of transphobia and may encourage violence against one of the most marginalized segments of the population.
Much of this legislation prohibits the use of so-called gender-neutral language or prevents discussions about gender issues in schools, contrary to decisions of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). At least 11 anti-trans laws have been deemed unconstitutional by the judiciary.
There are also restrictions on the sharing of bathrooms and the participation of trans athletes in sports competitions. Other norms prohibit transgender children and adolescents from accessing certain health services and participating in LGBTQIA+ Pride Parades. There are also rules seeking to censor advertising materials with content related to gender diversity.
The number of anti-trans regulations in force may be even higher, as the search for municipal laws was limited to cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. These places concentrate 57% of the country's population, but represent only 5.7% of the total number of municipalities, according to data from the 2022 IBGE Census.
The first laws of this kind in the country were enacted in 2015 in Novo Gama, in the state of Goiás. One of them, which prohibits the teaching of the so-called gender ideology in local schools, was deemed unconstitutional by the STF in 2020.
The pace of production of these regulations accelerated from 2021 onwards. In that year, the first state anti-trans law was enacted in Rondônia, prohibiting gender-neutral language in schools —the STF declared it unconstitutional last year, understanding that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Union and is beyond the scope of authorities at the state and municipal levels.
In 2023, with the Bolsonaro movement becoming the main opposition force in the National Congress, the anti-trans agenda became a priority for this political group in the Legislative branch. The country gained, on average, a new law of this type every two weeks throughout last year.
In Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima, there are now four anti-trans laws in force. In the past two years, the city enacted laws to ban debates on gender diversity, as well as the use gender-neutral language and bathrooms in schools, and a transgender sports ban also came into effect.
Venezuelan refugee Paola Abache, who is transgender, reports having been prevented from accessing women's bathrooms in the city. A volleyball player, she also says she was prohibited from playing with other women due to her gender identity.
"In Venezuela, I suffered discrimination because the country does not have laws that offer protection to the transgender population. I believed that here in Brazil our rights would be respected, but that was not what happened," she says.
When Abache, who is 23 years old, learned about the existence of anti-trans laws, she says it felt like being punched. On the other hand, she says she was well received by the LGBTQIA+ community in Boa Vista. "I met many wonderful people who opened their doors to me. It is thanks to them that I can keep my head high" she says.
In March of last year, Folha had already reported an unprecedented avalanche of anti-trans bills being put forward. The new survey has identified 293 bills of this type filed throughout 2023, many of which are still under consideration and could be singed into law in the future —for the sake of comparison, the ACLU has tracked 510 anti-LGBT+ bills in the United States in the same period.
Leading the way is the PL party, former President Jair Bolsonaro's party, but there are also proposals from other parties, such as Republicans, União Brasil, PP, MDB, and PSDB. The anti-trans agenda could be exploited by these lawmakers in the campaign for the municipal elections in October 2024, according to analysts.
According to Amanda Souto Baliza, president of the sexual and gender diversity commission of the National Bar Association (OAB), the strategy of these lawmakers can be described as a "legislative Blitzkrieg."
"It is a 'lightning attack' against LGBT+ rights," she explains. "It begins with viral anti-LGBT+ misinformation that creates moral panic. Then, extremist groups create a bill model and distribute it in municipalities and state legislatures. Some of these projects are eventually signed into law."
Baliza represents civil society entities in legal actions to try to block some of these laws, but she says that the volume of regulations ends up complicating the process. "As the phenomenon occurs simultaneously throughout the country, it ends up overwhelming the social movement and the courts," she says.
She considers that legislators do not have enough support today to approve laws at the federal level that could lead entrench transphobic segregation. She also points out that the LGBT+ movement has been organizing to protect trans rights, but fears that the scenario may become more unfavorable in the next 10 to 15 years.
Julia Ehrt, executive director of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (Ilga), expresses concern regarding the passing of anti-trans legislation in Brazil. She points out that the offensive against the rights of the LGBT+ population is a phenomenon that extends from consolidated democracies, such as the U.S. and Great Britain, to authoritarian regimes like Russia and Uganda.
"The anti-trans narrative is part of a broader movement against LGBT+ and women's rights. There are interest groups with significant resources working to advance these agendas globally," says Ehrt. She argues that these groups should coordinate internationally to counter the conservative offensive.
Lawmakers deny discrimination
Lawmakers heard by Folha deny that the laws mentioned in this story have any anti-trans bias, and claim to seek to protect rights for other groups facing an alleged threat posed by transgender individuals.
Councilman Ilderson Pereira Silva (PTB), author of laws on bathrooms and sports in Boa Vista, states that his intention is to prevent cases of harassment.
"The law in question specifically deals with bathrooms and locker rooms in public and private schools. Female individuals feel uncomfortable with the presence of a transgender person in a privative environment," he says in a statement.
Silva also says that he seeks to ensure equity in sports. "Even with aesthetic and hormonal changes, there may be possibilities of decreased muscular resistance and aerobic capacity in the comparison between a trans woman and a cisgender man, but there are still not enough studies on the matter," he states.
The lawmaker also mentions that he has trans individuals on his team and says he treats them by their chosen name.
Councilman Zelio Mota (PSD), author of the law on gender-neutral language in Boa Vista, denies that there is a restriction of rights for and states that his goal is to ensure the rights of children and pre-adolescents to be literate in the standard Portuguese language.
He states that he respects the Supreme Court decision that overturned the law on gender-neutral language in Rondônia. "It is clear that the municipal law does not violate principles of our Federal Constitution, is in total accordance with the current rules of the LDB (Education Guidelines and Bases Law), and ensures the use of the official Brazilian language in municipal schools," Mota says in a statement.
Councilwoman Flávia Borja (PP), from Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais, is the author of a law that guarantees religious institutions and confessional schools the authority to use their bathrooms according to the biological definition of sex. She says that "when someone tries, aggressively, to impose their desires within these places, we understand that the primary intention is to challenge the faith professed there."
"Therefore, this law is necessary for better legal security for religious leaders and confessional educational institutions," says Borja, who is also a pastor at Lagoinha Baptist Church.
The report sought out State Deputy Eyder Brasil (PL), author of the law on gender-neutral language in Rondônia, but did not receive a response. The City Hall and City Council of Novo Gama were also contacted but did not respond. The PL's press office also did not respond.