By Melissa Van Brunnersum, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministry of Human Rights established a National Pact against LGBT-POV (violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, and transvestites) last week on Tuesday, May 15th, which aims to combat violence against LGBT peoples and prioritize respect for human dignity and diversity.

The ordinance came into effect immediately and was officially launched by the Federal Government on May 16th, the eve of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. The federal government and ten states have already joined the agreement.

According to government agency reports, Brazil is the country with the highest murder rate of LGBT people in the world. The Gay Group of Bahia recorded a total of 445 murders in 2017, that is, every nineteen hours, an LGBT person is killed. In the city of Rio, nine people from the LGBT community have already lost their lives in the last five months.

Among some of the actions foreseen in the pact are to execute an Action Plan, establish State Councils to Combat LGBT Discrimination, and to include these actions in the Pluriannual Plan (PPA) so that the budget for the policies is guaranteed.

One of the key obstacles remaining is the question of budget, highlighted both by civil society and members of state. “We cannot implement public policies in Brazil if we do not see a budget for it,” said Keila Simpson, president of the National Association of Transsexuals  (ANTRA).

Hernan Sourigues, an Argentinian who has been living in Rio for four and a half years, says, “I receive this news with skepticism as there is a major reduction in investment in everything related to human rights programs.”

Sourigues first came as a tourist ten years ago and then after several visits decided to stay indefinitely. However, identifying as gay in this city does come with its ups and downs.

“Zona Sul (South Zone) appears very open-minded, we see Post 8 in Ipanema and so many gays showing affection. Then you discover it’s not exactly like that, particularly in other neighborhoods.”

Still, in 2016 the Rio was named the LGBT community’s favorite beach destination in South America. The honor was announced at the 44th Annual Brazilian Travel Agencies Association (ABAV) International Tourism Fair, Brazil’s largest tourism exposition held in São Paulo.

SESSÃO ESPECIAL DE COMBATE A LGBTFOBIA EM ARACAJU

Apresentação do TCC

“AVANÇOS, LUTAS E DESAFIOS:

TRAJETÓRIAS DO MOVIMENTO LGBT DE SERGIPE”

Data: 18/05/2018

Local: Plenário da CVA –  Câmara de Vereadores de Aracaju

Horário: 9h00min

Autor do TCC: Marcelo Lima de Menezes

Venha compreender e conhecerum pouco da história de luta dosLGBTI – Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais, Intersex,contra os preconceitos e as violações dos DH – Direitos Humanos.

Uma brevecontextualização de organizaçãopolítica do segmento LGBTI no mundo, Brasil e Sergipe, nos períodos de:1850 a 1933 e 1960 a 2017.

A national IDAHOT Brazil coordination committee has been set up to curate information. To be added to the group, please contact comitenacionaldodia17maionobrasildaaliancanacionallgbti-subscribe@yahoogrupos.com.br and join the group on FAcebook 

Among the highlights, a meeting will be held at the Federal Parliament between Representatives and delegates from civil society. For more information: Wyllys frentedhumanos@gmail.com; Ascom@jeanwyllys.com.br 61 3215 5646

Facebook page for more info

The Parliament will hold two public hearings on the 17 on LGBT issues, including one on hate crimes

And the Senate will host a seminar on the 18th to discuss policies to combat LGBTphobias

Other major events:

A week of action in the state of Pernambuco. All information here

In Curitiba, the yearly IDAHOT march takes place again this year, together with a symposium on sexual diversity

A day of roundtables organised by the state authorities in Fortaleza

Brazilian Youth at IDAHOT 2017 event

A new health and day care center for LGBT people opens on IDAHOT in Joao Pessoa. Media report here

Bajubá: Memorial da Homofobia – annual gathering of the LGBTQ+ group BAJUBÁ, to celebrate the #May17 memorial and develop our locals to the global reality of queer people; May 17 from 6:40 p.m. @ Praça Ângelo d’Rolt, Medianeira, Paraná

Salvador de Bahia event

And all the way up to the Amazonas region. Full Manaus event info here.

In line with our theme for 2016, a number of actions will focus on mental health and wellbeing. One of the country’s largest events will take place over 4 days in Curitiba organized by Transgrupo, Grupo Dignidade and UNALGBT-Paraná. The range of events will include meetings with Legislators, Educational institutions and will end with a huge “Marcha pela Diversidade” (march for diversity).

For more information on IDAHOT 2016 events in Brazil please keep an eye out for our upcoming annual reports

The country page on the Spanish version of our website provides more detailed information.

Highlights included:

Pontal – Sao Paulo

In the town of Pontal, Sao Paulo all schools held events during the week of May  17th, with various events being held including essay contests, musical performances, theater, and graffiti workshops. Organizers also held a student march through the town of Pontal with music and chants against homophobia.

The Department of Education promoted a similar program in public schools, all with the support of the youth councils of Pontal – SP.

Vitória, Espírito Santo

In Vitória, Espírito Santo, events were carried out by the municipal departments of Citizenship and Human Rights (Semcid), Education (Seme) and Health (SEMUS). On Tuesday May 5th events started with the course “Training on Gender and Sexual Diversity” for professionals of the Municipal Department of Social Services (Semas), at the School of Government of Victoria (EGV), Bento Ferreira.

In order to engage the young population of the municipality, events were also held on May 13 at 7 PM on the island of Santa Maria. On May 14, at 7 pm, the Youth House in San Pedro, offered workshops on subjects related to discrimination and LGBTI youth.

May May 15th, education professionals  participated in a round of talks on the theme “Youth and Sexual Diversity in the context of human rights” in the auditorium of Seme. On the same day, at the auditorium of the House of Citizens, it was the turn of servers Semas, SEMUS and Semcid to engage with the public in the action.

In addition, throughout the month of May, student group ‘Project of Education for Youth and Adults’ (EJA) of the municipal school system  received training on sexual diversity. An estimated 20 groups were involved with local events.

Curitiba

In the city of Curitiba local authorities held a number of events marking May 17th. Details on all these events can be found through the local authority website

The city also hosted the XIII Seminar on Sexual Diversity and the XII Forum of Human Rights Under Homophobia, organized by Grupo Renascer/

In Rio de Janeiro, CEDS released a video on the occasion of IDAHOT in which they asked their affiliates to state why Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia need to be fought against. You can view the video here.

In all, there were close to 200 events in 14 states. Details below

According to final figures released by ABGLT – the Brazilian national umbrella group for LGBT associations – a total of 183 events were held in Brazil around the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia in 2014. Actions were held in at least 20 states, and in at least 55 towns and cities. Once again, this makes Brazil (along with the United Kingdom) one of the most significant national mobilisations around May 17.

A full panorama of all actions held is impossible, and this report will continue to be updated in the coming days, to reflect the scale and diversity of this year’s events. Below is a snapshot, divided by state, of just some of the amazing actions which marked the Day this year in Brazil.

A full list of events held in Brazil this year is available for download here (.doc, 46kb, in Portuguese), with thanks to ABGLT, to Toni, and especially to Paulinho for compiling it.

ABGLT’s May 17 media release, comprising a Manifesto and list of Activities is also accessible via this link (.pdf, 600kb, in Portuguese).

Bahia

Actions around May 17 in the North-Eastern state of Bahia, were significantly larger than any other Brazilian state this year. Commemorations around the Day spread into a month of events during the month of May, and were co-ordinated by a state-wide coalition of over a dozen community groups, civil society organisations and state institutions. For the second year running this run of events – the ‘May of Diversity Project’ – was backed by the SJCDH (State Department of Justice, Citizenship and Human Rights).

Activists and officials come together for an open congressional session in Salvador, Bahia. May 19, 2014.

On May 19, in honour of the IDAHOT 2014, the Salvador City Legislature held a packed ceremony and public consultation session on sexual orientation and gender identity in policies to promote human rights. The event addressed the need for a national gender recognition act, as well as the labour rights and public security needs of LGBT communities. The event was proposed by the councilor, Florisvaldo Bittencourt (PT). Read the full Portuguese report here.

In the first week of May, the group Juventude Sem Terra – the youth wing of the country’s Landless Worker’s Movement (MST) – organised a march of 3,000 people, in Salvador (pictured). Young activists at the march, affirmed “I’m gay and I’m landless” and that “homophobia exists in the country and in the city”.

Landless Youth Movement calls for an end to homoohobia during Bahia march. Source: MST

In Salvador’s Pelourinho, the show ‘Soul Transformista’ was shown free of charge in commemoration of the Day, on Saturday the 17th. The popular and critically acclaimed piece explores the world of ‘transformistas’ (drag artists), and the difficulties faced by them in trying to maintain the art form, in a city which doesn’t value it. The show was just one of countless cultural and artist events which marked the Day in Bahia this year.

The ‘Soul Transformista’ show was one of many May 17 events held in Salvador. Source: Genilson Coutinho/Divulgação

Rio de Janeiro

In Rio de Janeiro, ABGLT held its Fifth National Conference in the city of Niterói on May 22-25. A video introducing the event can be found here:

Over 250 people attended the event, representing dozens of organisations from the whole of Brazil. A summary and manifesto from the event – which the organisers called “a historic event in the history of ABGLT” – can be found here (in Portuguese).

To close the event, on the 25th, around 100 participants gathered in Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro city, for a public march and ‘die-in’, to call for the passing of legislation criminalising homophobia.

Die-in and march on Copacabana beach front ends the V National ABGLT Conference. Source: Revista Forum

The exhibition, “Eu te Desafio a me Amar” (I challenge you to love me), by photographer Diana Blok also marked the commemorations in the city, with a special viewing at Amnesty International’s offices. The exhibition – which brings together depictions of LGBT experiences and expressions in contemporary Brazil – was also shown in Brasília. An online catalogue of the exhibition can be found here, and you can find out more about the work of Diana Blok at her website.

Photos from the exhibition “Eu te Desafio a me Amar” by Diana Blok – featured in Rio de Janeiro and Brasília around IDAHOT 2014.

The exhibition in Rio de Janeiro also formed part of a broader set of events embracing film screenings and a roundtable discussion on LGBTI freedom of expression worldwide, on SOGI aspects of international human rights activism, and on the emergence of transmasculine communities, and rights demands, in contemporary Brazil. Speakers included Sonia Corrêa (Sexuality Policy Watch), Claire House (IDAHO Committee), Be Neves (UERJ), and Arjen Uijterlinde (Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Rio de Janeiro). A recording of the debate is available viw twitcasting here.

São Paulo

In São Paulo, where May 17 is officially recognised as State Day in the Fight Against Homophobia (since a law was passed recognising the Day in 2011), various community groups and state departments came together for a day of reflection and cultural events around LGBT rights.

State Secretary of Justice and Defence of Citizenship, Eloisa Arruda, at São Paulo May 17 event. Source: Secretaria de Justiça SP

Co-ordinated by the State Department of Justice and the Defence of Citizenship, the day of events was intended to help promote debate about human dignity, independent of sexual orientation and gender identity. The action was supported by various other actors and institutions including gender and racial equality departments, and the Brazilian Lawyares Association (OAB).

“The date is important to call attention to the need for affirmative policies to confront homophobia and transphobia – discrimination suffered by travestis and transsexuals… The fight against prejudice is a daily struggle, but on this date we get to raise public awareness that we need to have concrete actions which reduce indices of criminality which are still persist against LGBT communities.” – Heloisa Gama Alves, Co-ordinator of Policies of Sexual Diversity in São Paulo.

Minas Gerais

Activists and supporters from the city’s LGBT community came together for a march in the centre of the state capital, Belo Horizonte, on Saturday May 17. Activists called for public policies to guarantee community safety, promote health and education, and a call for laws to promote equal rights. Organisers underscored that on May 10, 2014, two travestis in the Pampulha region of the city were killed in hate motivated attacks. And that, already in 2014, 136 lives have been taken through hate crimes targeting the LGBT community in Brazil – which remains a global “leader” for lethal LGBT hate crimes.

LGBT rights march through the streets of Belo Horizonte on May 17, 2014. Source: Em.com.br

Interview and translation by Claire House. Photos by Tata Baretto. Portuguese version to follow.

In honour of International Day of Transgender Visibility 2014 (March 31), I invited Benjamin (a high school teacher, and post-grad in public health) and Simon (an anthropologist), to do a collective interview about the emergence of trans masculine communities in Brazil in the last few years – events they’ve both been involved in, in different ways. I did so partly because this is a topic on which very little information exists, certainly in English, and partly because – as we discussed at the start – it might be interesting to provide a different kind of reference to discussions about trans masculine communities, so often based on North American and European communities.

Simon and Benjamin started the conversation by commenting that they thought it was a nice idea to invite them to participate together, because – whilst they are friends – they also have really different opinions, experiences and ways of expressing themselves. As Simon put it, “Benjamin is totally into the whole queer question, he likes confrontations and so on. I am a modest, discrete guy, in a visual sense, in terms of my aesthetic, right? The way I look is binary. Benjamin, no.” Benjamin responded, “If we could bring a third or fourth to make a ‘melting pot’ like you know (laughs), because it’s cool. Simon feels comfortable like this, just that there doesn’t exist a recipe. There doesn’t exist a true transsexual. I am just as true, as authentic, as Simon. In my narrative, my narrative is also just as truthful as his.”

I then started by suggesting that things were really different in about 2009, 2010, as compared with now. Back then, even just 4-5 years ago, there wasn’t even a community to speak of, whereas even in late 2012, there seemed to have been a big shift, with new communities forming in certain city spaces, at certain events, online, and in the form of new political networks. Benjamin invited Simon to respond first.

Simon: FTM communities are considered the last to come out of the closet, of the LGBT communities. So when I came out, I didn’t even know that I was in the closet, because we didn’t have any knowledge of masculine transsexuality. Whilst feminine transsexuality already – ever since Roberta Close exploded and had huge success – there was already information, but the masculine was a mystery, no one knew about this. I didn’t know, I didn’t have any information.

So what I would say is that in this period you suggest, what happened is that the existence of the possibility of self-definition became visible. I won’t even talk about identity because it’s a very limited term, but this possibility of defining yourself. This is recent, and it’s the publicising of this. It’s great, because it helps people to have this possibility in their lives. Also because if you don’t know, you don’t chase, you don’t know you can, and you don’t do. So succinctly it’s this. Visibility increased, yes. It was good. And they say that it’s the last community that has expressed itself. Now, on more details about these communities, I believe that Benjamin will have more to say than I do.

Benjamin: From 2009 to now, I can see two movements that really grew a lot in Brazil. The visibility of videologs – international at the start, and then afterwards a channel for Brazilians was created. So there were these videos produced by Brazilians, all trans, trans men, or male trans people, or men. But beyond the visibility of these videos, also, I think that a great mark – which was in 2011 – for Brazil, a person like, with an absurd representative quality, a great deal of charisma, and a phenomenal life story – who is Jean W. Nery. The first trans man, that we know of, in the history of Brazil, the first self-declared trans man, who published his biography.

In fact it was the second edition. The first edition was called ‘Erro de Pessoa’ (Error of Person), where he – when he started to publicise this book, in the 1980s, or thereabouts – when he would give interviews, they were conducted in the dark. He didn’t appear, he didn’t show his face. So – talking about visibility – look how complicated this is, right? Here is a person who is open about his identity, who told that whole incredibly rich and magnificent story, but who didn’t show his face. Nobody knew who he was.

And afterwards then, in 2011, when he publishes the second book – which is actually just the second edition with some chapters added. When he started to promote this book, he finally showed his face in the interviews. So I think this is without doubt a great mark, for men, right, Brazilian men. It changed a lot. And he starts to share this book, and does seminars in universities, and is invited to many places, and it generated a lot of attention.

Simon: But now there is the Brazilian Association of Trans Men (ABHT), right? Before there was only one or another blog here and there. I remember when I went to look – I had really little information – at this blog which was from Leonardo Tenório, where I also got some information.

Luís Capucho is a friend of mine, who is gay, and was invited to participate in the National Meeting of Travestis and Transsexuals, I think it’s ENTLAIDS, here in Rio de Janeiro, in Glória. And so he contacted me to go because I had revealed to him – whispered in his ear – my question. And said that I knew that in the United States there was, and in Europe too, but that here in Brazil there wasn’t any information. I said to him, “I guess I have to sell all my things, say goodbye to my family and go to the United States to do a metamorphosis”.

And he went and sent me a message saying to me: “there will be an event, ENTLAIDS, let’s go there, for you to meet other people”. And when I arrived, there were only women. And I went there quickly looking for other trans men, at the event.

This was in 2011, or thereabouts. And there I met a guy called Guilherme Almeida, who is a professor at the State University here in Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). And I said to him, I introduced myself, and he was very kind. We talked and he said to me “look I get treatment here in Rio de Janeiro, at the Pedro Ernesto University Hospital”. When he said that I almost fell over in shock, and said “so I can stay here in Brazil, and get treatment here?!” And him: “yes you can, go there to the Pedro Ernesto Hospital”.

So it was from this meeting by chance – there wasn’t information on the internet like this – and look, I researched a lot about this treatment, if it was possible, to be done here in Brazil.

Benjamin: In fact, there were various stories that went out in the papers, I know because I looked for them a lot. As I had already been to the United States and seen that this was possible, I kept thinking when will this happen here? When will this be available for me to access? Because if I depend on this to access a programme, I will sign any test that says I’m crazy, but I will enroll in this programme, because I want to access this service.

I searched a lot in the papers, and I found a story – when I was in São Paulo – I found a story in a journal, that was in 1997, saying that they had started a kind of pre-project. It was at a university hospital, there at the University of São Paulo, and everything was still experimental. And so, it was more or less around 2000, 2003, that the transgender referral centres (centros transexualizadores) were created in Brazil.

There are four centres. All of them are linked to universities. There isn’t any private sector centre right, as they exist in some developed countries. So all of them are linked to a university, to teaching, to clinical medicine, to research. They are in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in Rio Grande do Sul, in São Paulo and in Goiás.

Claire: And they are all qualified to deal with trans people…

Simon: Theoretically.

Benjamin: Yes, there is a difference between theory and practice.

Claire: I was talking with someone, who was saying that the construction of new trans masculine communities in Latin America in general, is very much connected to the search for health services? That – as part of this searching – many times, trans communities that didn’t exist before, ended up being formed, understand?

Benjamin: Yes. For trans men yes. And I saw very recently, this week, a trans man said that he accessed a service – the CRT, which exists there in São Paulo – which was the first time that he didn’t feel, like, alone in the world, right, isolated. Because he is from a rural city, and he said that he only knew, and actually saw trans men, other trans men, when he accessed this service for the first time. Outside of this he had only seen this in magazines, on the internet, he had never seen, never talked with one, face to face.

So this happens a lot, because as there are only these four referral centres, the people come from all the other states, where there isn’t this service. They even get – or theoretically, they should get access from the Ministry of Health – they theoretically get access to a grant, through their local health clinic, to get travel costs to one of these centres to be attended. So this means that many people – who had their transition existing only as a dream, right, as a utopia – that this started to become reality, to be possible also for these people, from all the more rural places.

“We have to prove to certain people that our lives are worth something, in the health system. Because they don’t value our lives. Some guy is there, some health worker, but he doesn’t think that your life is worth anything. Here in Brazil you get tired of knowing, because there are people that die at the doors of the hospital, understand?”

Simon: I have friends from the countryside in Minas Gerais, who come here to Rio to get treatment. One friend, he lives in Santos Dumont, a small town in the countryside in Minas, and he receives, even, medication from the national health service. He takes his hormones through the national health service. I know people from Juiz de Fora, because when you have a referral centre people do really end up coming, they come from other places and receive their transport costs even. The state is not so bad, if you know how to communicate.

We – Benjamin and I – whatever our differences, we study the same course and there’s this really interesting guy who I like to hear about, who says that we have to prove to certain people that our lives are worth something, in the health system. Because they don’t value our lives. Some guy is there, some health worker, but he doesn’t think that your life is worth anything. Here in Brazil you get tired of knowing, because there are people that die at the doors of the hospital, understand? So if you don’t prove that your life is worth something, you will keep getting put to one side, to one side. So it’s this, what he’s saying. Because in this country that we live in, one thing is the law, and another thing is the hospital giving you treatment. It’s totally different.

There is something that Roberto da Matta, who is an anthropologist, says: Here in Brazil, the law doesn’t come from practice, as in the majority of countries, where you have a law which is really traditional, which comes from custom, and then you will create a law. It’s not like this that it works. Here things are implemented from above. First comes the law, which comes to change the practice.

Benjamin: And it’s difficult for you to change the practice. It’s really difficult for you to change what happens in practice.

Simon: Understand? It’s upside down here. You have the law, and this law comes to change what happens in practice. The law says that I have the right to get some laser treatment for my beard – in the case of a trans woman – but in practice the judge thinks that it’s wrong, that I shouldn’t do it. Because what he wants to know is if my appearance is worth this investment from the state. In practice the law says that such and such a place should have a referral centre. That I have the right to go there, to get treatment, and then I arrive there and there is nothing. The people don’t even know about it, understand? And they don’t even want to.

The true – look here – true militancy in Brazil, has nothing to do with NGOs. I was saying this to a friend of mine that works at a local LGBT referral centre. Militancy in Brazil you do like João Nery did it, like Benjamin is doing it, like I’m doing it, without being connected to an NGO or anything. It’s going there, opening people’s minds up, and confronting, and demanding dignified treatment. This is true militancy.

Benjamin: Just that there are few people who do this.

Simon: You have to illuminate people, about what you’re doing there, who you are.

Benjamin: You need to, because people, they have a final objective in their heads, of how they want to be. Just that they don’t know how they are going to access services and navigate the service, to get what they want. Because the law is guaranteeing one thing, but practice works in a different way.

So, for example, when they make a multidisciplinary team, to attend people, this exists on paper, but if you don’t chase it, if you don’t go there and knock on the door, in the specific sector for this (which is urology in the case of the Pedro Ernesto Hospital). If you don’t go there on the day that they ask you to go. If you don’t insist and knock on the door, take the law in writing, printed out and show: “no, it’s my right, you have to take care of me, take care of my health, if you don’t take care of me, if you don’t want to care for me, I will sue you.”

Just that people are afraid. They are still, we are still, right, a very vulnerable population. Few people know the rights that they have, the power that they have to change this practice, of ensuring that the guy there really searches, to relay that conversation, to articulate this individual situation, of the patient, and to communicate with the clinic, with the endocrinologist, with the gynecologist, with the psychologist and psychiatrist.

In fact, the multidisciplinary team just exists on paper, because people are sent to medics, of different areas, and these medics never sit and talk with each other to ask “how is Simon?”, “how is Benjamin?”, “how is João” right? They never sit, they never talk, they don’t even know the patients that they have. So how is it that you can talk of taking care of someone’s health if you don’t even know the patients which you have?

Simon: It’s like this, look, you take a does of 2ml of testosterone, every 21 days, and this can cause you some side effects, such as cysts on your breast. This could also cause a problem with your uterus. You didn’t have your uterus taken out, you are a man, you feel like a man, but your body has everything, all of the organs, it is the body of a woman. You are a man in your subjective experience, in your options and in the way you construct your image, but in the biology that you were born with, you are a woman, just like any woman. So, what happens? You took this hormone, and it gave you a cyst in your breast, but on the health team there is no mastologist to examine you, for you to know if it’s okay.

So when I say that our life has to be worth something it’s because the guy, if you go to him and say “look I have a cyst in my breast, I took hormones, I have a cyst, is there a way to see a mastologist?” He should not hear as a response: “Ah I don’t know, let’s see”.

Benjamin: I think that, just going back, touching on a question that I think is important, which is to remember that normally the people that search for these referral services, are those that are less economically privileged. And we know that in Brazil, this is directly linked to education. So Simon is a guy that has had opportunity to study. He is an intelligent guy that searched for information in many places, so he can access these services, and he has consciousness of what he needs to demand, and how he will do it, so that this theory becomes practice.

“[I put] treatment in inverted commas. Some people will like this word, others won’t. I don’t like ‘treatment’. I’m not treating myself for anything. I’m well, I’m not sick. I’m not treating myself, they are providing a service for me. For me and for other men.”

And I access the service for different motives than the great majority of people, which is for financial reasons. It is the only way – the only channel that people find, of getting that image we talked about before. So many people look for private services, they have a private health plan and look for medics that are willing to deal with this ‘treatment’. ‘Treatment’ in inverted commas. Simon used ‘treatment’. Some people will like this word, others won’t. I don’t like ‘treatment’. I’m not treating myself for anything. I’m well, I’m not sick. I’m not treating myself, they are providing a service for me. For me and for other men.

So when I access this service, it’s not because I don’t have financial conditions. I have a private health plan. Because in my work situation, I searched for this, to have a level of comfort that would allow me to access some things that I wouldn’t be able to, if I hadn’t chased after this part. My transition started much longer ago because I chased after this – to ensure that I could move on, standing on my own two feet.

So I access the service, and I know others do too – not the great majority, it’s a minority that does this – but I access the service for political reasons. Because I go there, when I can – I knock on the door, demand, and show them the research, which I take.

For example, I did a big project about hormones at home. I took some articles and showed them to the medic, and even used various terms in English with them, and saw that some didn’t feel comfortable in the room. There is always a medic right, and they have assistants. All of them were there like, with this strange atmosphere. And at the same time they go opening these sessions, I go opening – I go trying, in my own way to open up avenues, to open up rifts, so that other people, who come to access the service don’t have so much difficulty.

Claire: I know that now within the education sector, for example, there are some networks – informal or otherwise – of people who are organising to confront these problems in a more systematic way. It would be interesting to know a bit more about this. Or rather, beyond personal, individual militancy, how is it that the situation will change? Who is organising to change the situation, in the areas of public health, of public policy, of discrimination in a more general way?

Benjamin: Yes. Two organisations were created. One Simon mentioned, the Brazilian Association of Trans Men (ABHT), and also IBRAT (Brazilian Institute of Transmasculinity). They are two organisations which are organising, politically, and trying to call more people, to involve themselves with militancy. I think that there is a very big resistance, amongst Brazilian trans men, in relation to political activism. Trans women have really gone forward and shown themselves more, and for this they have won so many gains. Because how is it that you will win something if you don’t show yourself? No one wants to show their face right, no one wants to appear. People want to access some things but they don’t want to show themselves. So they try – Luciano, Leonardo, and others – to bring people into activism in some way. Trying even, look, “you don’t need to photograph yourself, you don’t need to be filmed, but perhaps you could contribute with your experience, right. You could write something and send it to us. Or, even, we could do a voice recording.”

So they are trying to bring people in, and they invited me, IBRAT, it was about a month ago, to participate – to help them in the production of these new health demands. Because there are some demands that are being attended to, but many others no. And, principally for trans men – who were the last not just to have visibility, to come out of the closet, but to have these demands attended to – not all of these demands have been elaborated. Or, if they were elaborated they need to be re-elaborated, from a practical standpoint right; from the necessities of each person.

Simon: When I spoke, before, about militancy, I don’t mean to disqualify it – on the contrary – the majority of legal rights were given through militancy, from NGOs and so on. What I want to say with this is that the great militancy, beyond this militancy for the search for legislation, is the militancy of everyday life. The law is important. These NGOs, people participating and everyone fighting for rights is cool, but I say that none of this becomes concrete, without everyday militancy. And there are many people who don’t go to NGOs but, for example, are going there to the hospital (Benjamin: Are accessing the service, exactly), are annoying the guys there, and are changing things.

Owing to this insistence, this everyday militancy, many of us managed to get this identity card (pictured, above), which is a national health service card, with our social name on.

Benjamin: Or are going to school. Just the fact of a guy leaving his house, of him managing to leave the house, and going to school, or going to a university and sitting there with 30, 40 people, that is already a militancy.

Simon: Yes, his life is a already a militancy (Benjamin: exactly). I want to say, his existence in the world is already a form of militancy. Because the guy is there forcing a change in the practical, in customs, and in people’s heads. Taking them out of ignorance, illuminating with his physical presence, his energy. Do you want to see something? (Takes out his wallet, as does Benjamin).

When I would go there to the hospital and they would treat me that way. I started to go around with the law in my wallet, which was the NGOs that did it, that helped. So, every time I passed them my exams, I passed them this letter here as well, with the law on. It’s a form of militancy, of clarifying. I never again received this kind of treatment.

Benjamin: And now, what we managed – not just Simon and I – many other men as well, owing to this insistence, this everyday militancy, many of us managed to get this identity card (pictured, above), which is a national health service card, with our social name on.

Simon: Visibility and invisibility, let’s play with this. I become visible, when I fight for my rights in a certain space. But I become invisible, to the extent that I have passed through ‘hormonisation’ – or hormonal treatment, or whatever you want to call it. So what happens? I became invisible. I had never experienced this.

If before I was considered a butch, right, as they call it, everyone would see me. So I had a lot of visibility (Benjamin: Yes, too much visibility!), I had a lot of visibility (Laughter). Yes, people would look at you like adyke (mancha), right?! Because of that androgynous, really strong profile. So I was real queer (pintosona), like a really cool trucker! (More laughter!) So with the hormonal question, I became invisible. I became invisible.

My neighbours, some love me, some hate me. One has this garage, he’s a mechanic, and he adores me, one day he said he loved me. On the other side of the corner, my neighbour came to talk to me. Also, he said like, he came up to my niece and said “hmm, his life must be so difficult, so much time imprisoned in the wrong body”. Then he also wanted to know – “what did you take to grow so much?”, he said, comparing my size, before and after – because he wanted to also take my medication! My cousin also came to ask me what I was taking, so he could take it, understand? The rest of the neighbourhood, has been taking some time.

  So the people in the building opposite me, on top, they don’t know much about my life, they see me come and go. And then they asked me about a young woman that was always in my house. Came up to me and asked me about her, and I said “she’s not here”. And so after, they called my niece over and asked, what had happened “with me”. And so my niece said: “she went to Salvador”. Understand? Went to Salvador. What happens? I became invisible to the people that don’t know, who think think that I moved. Because I’m no longer the same person.

So what happens with this visibility and invisibility, is that I became invisible to these people – they think that I am another person. And actually I am another person.

So when is it that visibility comes? Some guy crashes into my car, the police arrive and register it, and I have to give my ID: “what is this, are you messing with me?” and so, you have to explain. This is when you become visible. I become visible when I am at the hospital and I present a document. Now, in day-to-day life, I stay invisible. I have become a common man. I have become like, as Caetano Veloso (a famous Brazilian musician) says, Peter Guest.

And this changed the way people treat me, because I suffered discrimination, many times I suffered discrimination, in this situation. People could see before and treated me badly, many times.

But you understand what I wanted to say with this thing of the visible and the invisible?

Claire: Yes and I think it’s really interesting. Because literally, right, there is a visibility which is, politically, talking about rights, representation, and demanding your rights. This is a kind of visibility. On the other hand there is also the visual, literally. Which is also to say: to pass, or not.

Benjamin: Yes. I am on the limit at the moment, especially after the surgery, right. I realise that a lot changed. Just for having done the surgery. People only change their preconceptions if I open my mouth, if I speak. Or sometimes people, they don’t know very well how to read it, they don’t know what they are seeing, right, they’re really confused. How good that it’s them that’s confused now, and not me! (Laughter)

Claire: It’s an inversion in a way. It’s not quite like coming out (assumir); coming out but at the same time disappearing (sumir), and resolving some questions that come with visibility…

Benjamin: This, this. And for the majority, right, of trans men, this is the great desire. This is (Simon: And because of this we don’t get so much space to fight for rights, no one wants to show their face, because of this João Nery stayed covered so long). Uhuh. It’s to be invisible really. Or to be visible as you are, it’s this: to be yourself.

Claire: To close, do you have a message you would like to leave in honour of International Transgender Day of Visibility, to other communities, maybe in different countries, who might be reading this?

Simon: I will say the following: chase your objectives, because they are worth it. It is worth it that you chase what you want. Because some people think that it’s difficult, that you won’t get there, or that there are some long distances to cover, or some complicated processes. I would leave to people the message that it is worth it, despite the difficulties, that you chase what you want – that you continue in the affirmation of things you believe in, and that you chase them.

Benjamin: Show your multitude. Show the multitude that exists in you. Because there does not exist just one single Gabrielle, or one João – show who you are, in this sense. Not in the sense of showing “I am João the trans man”, no: show who you are, what other qualities you have, right? Educate yourself, if it’s possible, and if you want to. And enjoy your journey. Enjoy your journey.

Brazilian activists remain at the international front-lines in the global fight against homophobia & transphobia, for IDAHO 2013. Brazil now looks set to be the country with the most events planned in the world around this year’s May 17 commemorations, with a total of 117 events confirmed, in every one of Brazil’s 27 states. From Amazonas, to Bahia, to Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul, a great array of events are planned – including conferences, workshops, parades, flashmobs, festivals, and a march on the National Congress.

Given this year’s battles over sexual rights in Brazil – marked by the appointment of far-right pastor, Marco Feliciano, to the head of Brazil’s Human Rights Commission in March – it will be highly significant that LGBTQI activists in the country will make themselves heard in such a co-ordinated way; both to decision-makers in Brazil, and the international community.

You can see a list of events (in Portuguese) here, and highlights from this year’s events (in English) by clicking on Brazil on the map on the homepage.

Local activists reported that, aside from the continued growth of the May 17 mobilisations, year on year, a key issue prompting a response on such a scale was the recent controversial appointment of far-right Evangelical pastor Marco Feliciano to the head of Brazil’s Human Rights Commission. His appointment, in March 2013, has been greeted with outrage by LGBT activists and other civil society groups, and May 17 offered the first opportunity to mobilise on a nationwide scale.

Whilst setbacks also continue to characterise the state of play for LGBT rights in contemporary Brazil at the national level, activists also had particular reason to celebrate this year: On May 14, 2013 same sex marriage was fully legalised in the country. Same sex couples may now have their partnerships recognised at local registry offices, rather than (an uncertain path through) through the courts.

Below is, inevitably, a mere snapshot of the total actions in Brazil this year, in general split by state. A full list of 117 events, as of April 17, 2013, can be found (in Portuguese) at: the Fora do Armário blog. Special thanks, for national co-ordination of event reporting, go to Toni Reis and Sergio Viula c/o Brazil’s national articulation group ABGLT (Associação Brasileira de Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais, Transsexuais, Travestis e pessoas Trans).

Nationwide

The Brazilian League of Lesbians (LBL, Liga Brasileira de Lésbicas), coordinated a nationwide action called ‘Meu Sangue pela Igualdade’ (My Blood for Equality), to protest policies which prohibit LGBT people from donating blood. Joint actions occurred in various states, including Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte and Piauí. For more info please see: www.lblrs.blogspot.com // www.lblsaudelesbica.blogspot.com

Bahia

Various towns and cities. More than 50 organisations joined forces to produce a month of events, across the state, for Bahia’s ‘May of LGBT Diversity’. Highlights included workshops, queer performances, LGBT parades, and the 1st Conference of Lesbian and Bisexual Women of the State of Bahia. The exhibition ‘Out Feliciano’ ran in Salvador, from May 3. Three different towns and cities in the state (Pojuca, Salvador and Vitória da Conquista) held events on May 17, including a special session on combating homophobia, hosted by the Bahian State Congress in Salvador.

Distrito Federal

Brasilia. ABGLT and partners marked IDAHO 2013 with a National March Against Homophobia, to the Brazilian Congress, on May 15, which also connected to the Global Rainbow Flashmob. Hundreds of people attended. ABGLT and partners also organised seminars on the Secular State (May 13) and Laws against Homophobia (May 14). For more information please see www.abglt.com.br

Images from the March on Brasilia – May 14, 2013. The placard (bottom) reads ‘You’re disgusted with seeing a same sex couple kissing. I’m disgusted with people deceiving us’.

Mato Grosso do Sul

Campo Grande. ‘Conference on Sexual Diversity and the Criminalisation of Homo/Trans/Lesbophobia’. (May 23 – 24, 2013) Various academics came together to promote debate on the secular state, human rights, and gender/sexuality theory in the current context of Marco Feliciano’s appointment to the CDHM. The conference was hosted by LEVS/UFMS (Laboratório de Estudos de Violência e Sexualidade). For more info see: http://diversidadesexualufms.blogspot.com.br/

Photos from the conference in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul (May 23 -24). Source.

Minas Gerais

Montes Claros. 10th Homoculture Show and 5th Conference: ‘Sertão Without Homophobia: Constructing Citizenship’. (May 13 – 17, 2013). Highlights included workshops, roundtables, debates, academic presentations, mini-courses, exhibitions, cultural fair and cinema. The show and conference was organised by Núcleo de Estudos Sobre Homocultura (Nehom), State University of Montes Claros. For more info please see: http://www.nehom.unimontes.br

Para

Belem. On May 17th, two groups (Rede Ex Aequo and Grupo Ellos) joined forces to hold a ’free hug’ event where, of course, they gave out free hugs, together with information about what May 17 means. They also received contributions for a photo project – demonstrating people’s opposition to homophobia, transphobia and biphobia – which was presented for IDAHO 2013.

Pernambuco

Recife. May Against Homophobia. The programme in Recife included a press conference + launch event (May 8); Meeting for LGBT families (May 9); Workshop and hip-hop street art in schools event – all with the theme of combating homophobia (May 17); Opening ceremony of the Instituto José Ricardo (May 21).

Rio de Janeiro

Campos dos Goytacazes. Events in the cidade marvilhosa (marvellous city!) included a film showing of the documentary Janaína: A Dama de Ferro” about the first travesti who became a lawyer in Brazil. The filmmaker, Vagner de Almeida, also attended and answered questions about the documentary (May 17, 20:00). Commemorations also included a book launch of Um Buquê Improvisado by Roberto Muniz Dias. Events were hosted at: Casa do Advogado, Praça Barão da Lagoa Dourada.

Rio Grande do Sul

The state saw another collective action in favor of the Secular State. Again, this was linked to the recent wave of protests against the appointment of Marco Feliciano to the head of Brazil’s Human Rights Commission. Various LGBT groups took part including SOMOS, NUANCES, IGUALDADE-RS, LBL, CRIOLOS and LBL and the Fórum Gaúch em Defesa das Liberades Laicas (which brings together more than 50 organisations from various social movements). For more info please see: www.lblrs.blogspot.com // www.lblsaudelesbica.blogspot.com

São Paulo

Santos. The city of Santos, like others in Brazil recognises May 17 as the Municipal Day of Combating Homophobia. OAB, IBDFAM and the City Council of Santos came together for a panel discussion about anti-homophobia laws and the possibility of creating a new government LGBT Commission in the city. There was also a public hearing in the municipal Congress on the ‘Secular State and Sexual Diversity’.

]]> https://dayagainsthomophobia.org/brazil-idaho-report-2013/feed/ 0 https://dayagainsthomophobia.org/autorizan-el-matrimonio-igualitario-en-brasil/ https://dayagainsthomophobia.org/autorizan-el-matrimonio-igualitario-en-brasil/#comments Fri, 17 May 2013 14:34:47 +0000 http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/?p=1153 La justicia de Brasil determinó que las oficinas públicas que celebran matrimonios no podrán rechazar a parejas homosexuales que deseen casarse, a pesar de que el Congreso no ha aprobado una ley autorizando el matrimonio homosexual en el país.

La decisión fue adoptada por el Consejo Nacional de Justicia (CNJ), una institución pública que vela por la autonomía del Poder Judicial y es presidida por Joaquim Barbosa, presidente también de la Corte Suprema, y publicada en su sitio web.

Hasta ahora, algunas oficinas públicas -subordinadas a la justicia estatal- aceptaban la solicitud de casamiento de parejas homosexuales, y otras las negaban. La justicia de varios estados de Brasil ha aceptado el casamiento homosexual, pero no había hasta el momento una decisión a nivel nacional.

La unión estable de parejas homosexuales fue reconocida hace dos años, en mayo de 2011, por la Corte Suprema de Brasil, que les garantizó los mismos derechos que a las heterosexuales. No obstante, el Congreso brasileño, donde hay una poderosa bancada religiosa que se opone al tema, no ha aprobado el matrimonio homosexual.

La decisión de la Corte Suprema “es vinculante” y debe ser seguida por las instancias inferiores.

En teoría, la decisión adoptada este martes por el CNJ puede ser cuestionada por la Corte Suprema, pero no es probable señalaron algunos analistas quienes dudan ahora sobre la posibilidad de que esta situación sea revertida en lo inmediato desde el congreso.