Brazil, South America

Brazil is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occuping nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. In 1830, Dom Pedro I signed into law the Imperial Penal Code eliminating all references to sodomy. As of 2003, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was prohibited in 73 municipal statutes, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and three state constitutions. Same-sex civil unions have been established at the state level in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. A court decision has been pending since 2005 on legalizing marriage nationwide.

Despite some positive laws, research done in 2005 found that 65% of the homosexuals interviewed in that year's São Paulo Gay Pride Parade said that they were victims of hate speech and/or suffered physical aggression. In mid-2006, Brazil launched Brazil Against Homophobia, a campaign against homophobia within the country including TV advertisement and billboards. The first adoption in Brazil by a same-sex couple was by a lesbian couple from Rio Grande do Sul. In May 2011 Brazil's Federal Surpeme Court ruled unanimously (10 to 0) that Civil Unions are legally acceptable relationships between adult citizens of the same gender.  Read more about gay rights.

 

 

One Million Revelers Celebrate Brazil Gay Pride

An estimated one million people turned out to celebrate Brazil Gay Pride on Sunday. Floats blaring music lined Rio de Janeiro’s Avenida Atlantica across from the city’s iconic Copacabana beach, site of the 17th annual carnival-inspired party. This year’s event called for an end to homophobia in Brazilian society. Julio Moreira, president of Grupo Arco-Iris,… Read more »

Rio Gay Pride aims to tackle Brazilian ‘homophobia’

Huge crowds have been taking part in Rio de Janeiro’s Gay Pride parade. Organisers Grupo Arco-Iris (Rainbow Group) were expecting more than one million people to join the carnival-inspired event on Copacabana beach. Mothers of gay men and women opened the parade, which this year aimed to highlight the issue of homophobia in Brazilian society.… Read more »

UN agencies ask Brazilian president to criminalize ‘homophobia’

The Expanded Thematic Group on HIV/AIDS in Brazil (GT/UNAIDS), in joint partnership with national and international groups, sent a letter on October 16 to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and other Brazilian authorities, requesting priority be given to efforts to criminalize “homophobia.” The letter was signed by GT/UNAIDS and its members: USAID, UNHCR, ILO, UN Women,… Read more »

Brazil Hosts First Transgender Beauty Pageant

“This contest is key for the visibility of us. We transgender woman suffer a lot from prejudice and discrimination, whether we are pretty or not, rich or poor.” That’s how one contestant describes Brazil’s first transgender beauty pageant, staged Oct. 30 in Rio de Janeiro. The event is particularly historic in the Latin American nation,… Read more »

Fifteen gay activists receive death threats in Brazil

Fifteen activists from Curitiba, state capital of Paraná, Brazil report they have been receiving constant death threats Fifteen activists from Curitiba, Brazil have revealed today that they have been receiving constant death threats since the last week of September. All the threats are of a homophobic nature and characteristic of hate crimes expressing a high… Read more »

Brazil state of São Paulo celebrated gay partnership day

The Brazilian state of São Paulo organized a collective ‘gay partnership day’ in which 46 couples collectively registered their relationship as a civil union The Brazilian state of São Paulo organized a collective ‘gay partnership day’ in which 46 couples had their relationship registered as a civil union, followed by a religious blessing and an… Read more »

Brazil: Bar warned for discriminating against lesbian couple

A bar in the city of Teresina, Brazil was issued with an administrative warning for having discriminated against a lesbian couple. The municipality of the city of Teresina, Brazil issued a penalty notice against a bar that discriminated against a lesbian couple who attended a Valentine’s Day party at the premises. The warning was issued… Read more »

280 gay hate murders in Brazil and Peru in 2011

A report suggests the risk of a gay man being murdered in Brazil is 800% higher than in the US Sex-rights groups in Peru and Brazil announced the number of homosexual killings in 2011. Brazil’s Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB) documented 266 murders of gays, lesbians and transvestites in Brazil last year, six more than… Read more »

Brazil’s new bill criminalizes homophobia

The Senate’s revisions to the penal code safeguard against gender identity or sexual orientation discrimination A peaceful anti-homophobia demonstration in Brazil is one of several responses to reports of homophobia in the country. A Brazilian Senate committee passed an anti-homophobia bill on Friday (25 May). Just days after the human rights committee approved civil unions… Read more »

Supergay TV Celebrity Jean Wyllys Campaigns for Equality in Brazil’s Congress

Just how many people know of Brazilian Supergay Jean Wyllys? In 2005, 50 million Brazilians voted for him to win the popular reality TV show Gran Hermano, Brazil’s version of Big Brother. That’s only 13 million short of the number of Americans who voted for Obama during our national presidential election. Instead of opting to… Read more »

Court Recognizes First Gay Marriage In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

A court in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil approved a request to convert the civil union of a gay male couple into a civil marriage, the AFP reported. Judge Luiz Felipe Francisco said Brazilian law does not prohibit marriage between members of the same sex. “As there is no explicit barrier to marriage between two people… Read more »

Supergay Andre Fischer: Queer Brazil’s Media King

When you think of mainstream television programs like Ellen, Glee, and Modern Family, you can see the power of the the media to change American societal attitudes towards LGBT individuals. To learn about queer life in Brazil, we met with media guru Andre Fischer. Supergay Andre is director of Mix Brazil, the largest LGBT media… Read more »

Brazil’s Surge in Violence Against Gays Is Just Getting Worse

One of the developing world’s rising stars is also seeing a surge in antigay homicides. Kristian Jepsen on how the hate crimes are casting a shadow over a major emerging economy. Brazil has never been hotter. Tourists and entrepreneurs are flocking to the country for its natural beauty and its booming business climate. Portuguese professionals… Read more »

Discrimination, policies, and sexual rights in Brazil.

Source – Instituto de Medicina Social, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. carrara@ims.uerj.br Abstract This article focuses on a politics arena that has been articulated through the impact of ideals of sexual rights on Brazilian sexual politics, namely the affirmation of “LGBT rights”. These rights have been constructed both through attempts to extend… Read more »

Sao Paulo Metro launches campaign to combat homophobia

The Brazilian State of São Paulo in partnership with the São Paulo City Metro (Underground) launched yesterday a campaign to combat homophobia entitled: “See beyond prejudice. Respect differences.” Its objective is to increase respect towards, and decrease discrimination against, LGBT people living in South America’s most populous city. The first stage of the project aims… Read more »

Alagoas formalizes the Working Group to Combat Homophobia

Alagoas (a federal district in northeast Brazil) has now officially a Working Group to Combat Homophobia. The resolution was signed on Friday (23) by the Secretaries of Defense Social Security (DES), Darius Caesar, and Women, Citizenship and Human Rights, Katia Born, during a meeting with representatives of groups LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestites and Transsexuals).… Read more »

Brazil: Anti-Homophobia Bill Suffers a “Death Blow”

Brazilian lawyer Thiago Fiago comments on the recent changes to the complementary bill PLC122, which originally intended to criminalize homophobia. Fiago says the proposed bill has suffered a “death blow” and criticizes the role of religion, and particularly evangelical representatives, in the parliament. We see the years of dedication Brazilian LGBT Advocacy rightly being negotiated… Read more »

AIDS Among Young MSM Makes Progress

15 to 24 years in the sights of the Ministry of Health to control the spread of AIDS in the country. Last year alone, 9.5 Brazilians in this age group in every 100 thousand inhabitants, manifested symptoms of the disease. The proportion that may mistakenly seem minimal to the layman, leaving authorities on alert. In… Read more »

Gay Brazil News & Reports 2011

1 Brazil OKs in vitro fertilization for gay couples 1/11 2 In Brazil, in one year, 250 LGBT murdered: a "homocausto" 1/11 3 Six transvestites receive literary prize from Ministry of Health, Sao Paulo 1/11 4 ‘River Without Homophobia’ Launches Booklet on Rights of Trans People 1/11 5 Brazilian Law Society’s 1st National Congress on… Read more »

Gay Brazil News & Reports 2008-10

1 Baby taken away from Brazilian gay couple 1/08 2 Rio’s governor requests civil union rights for homosexual couples 3/08 3 Brazil opens condom factory to help preserve the Amazon rain forest 4/08 4 Brazil takes movie inspiration for condom campaign 4/08 5 Brazil launches hot site for gay travellers 5/08 6 Brazillian Prez Supports… Read more »

Gay Brazil News & Reports 2004-07

1 Gays in Brazilian State Quietly Tie Knot 5/04 2 In Brazil: Prejudice Out at school 6/04 3 Hundreds of thousands turn out for gay pride parades 6/04 4 Brazil’s homosexuals slam ‘insulting’ bill 7/04 5 Brazil: Organizing for Gay Rights in Salvador da Bahia city Nov/Dec 2004 6 Gay Rio de Janeiro: The New… Read more »

Gay Brazil News & Reports 2000-03

1 Brazil Grants Some Legal Recognition to Same-Sex Couples 6/00 2 Suspect for Letter Bomb to Gay Organization 2/01 3 Brazil gay activists lobby for same-sex unions 5/01 4 Some 200,000 expected for Brazilian gay parade 6/01 5 Brazilian gays lose hope for same-sex union bill 7/01 6 Pelotas Journal: Of Gays and Gauchos 8/01… Read more »