Using homophobic slurs is now a hate crime punishable by prison in Brazil
In a landmark ruling issued by Brazil’s highest court, the use of homophobic hate speech is now considered a hate crime and is punishable by a prison sentence. Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court determined last week that the protections of the country’s already existing hate crime law will now be extended to members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The court voted 9-1 in favor of the extension, which thereby changes the original application of the law enacted in 2019. Initially, the ruling in 2019 found that homophobic hate speech, much the same as racism in Brazil, was actually a hate crime. However, the ruling applied the law to the entire LGBTQ+ community as a whole, rather than slurs enacted on individuals.
The Brazilian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Association (ABGLT) argued in this particular motion that the 2019 protections were not adequate enough to protect individual LGBTQ+ members of the community from harm, and this time, the court agreed.
This now means that anyone who carries out a hate crime against an individual member of the LGBTQ+ community can now be subjected to a prison sentence of anywhere from two to five years.
Brazil is known for having some of the strictest legal protections for its LGBTQ+ community members of anywhere in the world. However, the country is also known for having some of the highest rates of violence against LGBTQ+ people as well. Transgender people are particularly unsafe in Brazil, with the statistics surrounding the murder of transgender people coming in at one of the highest globally.
According to a 2021 report conducted by Transgender Europe, 70% of transgender murders globally take place in Central and South America, and 33% of those take place in Brazil alone.
Justice Edson Fachin, the lead judge on the case, spoke out after the ruling was handed down. He stated that it was a “constitutional imperative” for Brazil’s LGBTQ+ community to have equal protection under the law as their heterosexual counterparts.
Watch this space as more information on this historic ruling comes to light. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!
