Brazil is the country with the most deaths of trans people in the world, says dossier

Brazil is the country with the most deaths of trans and transvestites in the world for the 14th consecutive year. According to the Dossier Murders and Violence against Brazilian Transvestites and Transsexuals of the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra), Mexico and the United States appear in second and third places, respectively. Brazil is the country with the most deaths of trans people in the world, says dossier

In 2022, 131 trans and transvestite people were murdered in the country. Another 20 took their own lives as a result of discrimination and prejudice. The data are part of the document disclosed in this Thursday(26), in a ceremony at the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship. Among the murders this year, 130 refer to trans women and transvestites and one to a trans man. The youngest person murdered was just 15 years old. Almost 90% of the victims were between 15 and 40 years old.

For the Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida, the data are a “tragedy”, but represent an opportunity to change the reality in which transgender and transvestite people currently live.

“The fact that we have a report like this points to the possibility of thinking about overcoming this tragedy. To have the knowledge, to have the data, to have the possibility of looking this problem in the face, brings us perspective of change, of transformation”, he said. “When we talk about gender and sexuality, we are accused of being identity. I ask these people if it is possible to build a country with the numbers that we see now,” he added.

According to the researcher in charge and secretary of Political Articulation at Antra, Bruna Benevides, factors such as the absence of actions to combat violence against LGBTQIAP+ people contribute to this scenario. The lack of government data and underreporting can also contribute to an inaccurate scenario over the years, in addition to making it difficult to identify the accused.

“What is the visibility that trans people have had? If you pick up the phone and search the word ‘transvestite’ on Google or any other mechanism, eight out of 10 news are about violence and this scenario has to change. We are the front lines to be seen, but we are also the front lines to be killed”, questioned Bruna.

Authorship

According to the survey, among the 131 murders last year, 32 suspects were identified. The dossier indicates that most suspects do not usually to have direct, social or affective relationship with the victim. In addition, “police and judicial practices are still characterized by a lack of rigor in the investigation, identification and arrest of suspects”.

“The absence, precariousness and fragility of data is constant, often intentionally used to hide or manipulate the idea of a decrease in cases in a given region”, says the survey.

The document also pointed out that 61% of murders occurred during the first half of 2022. In absolute numbers, Pernambuco was the state that recorded the most murders, with 13 cases, followed by São Paulo (11), Ceará (11), Minas Gerais ( 9), river of January (8) and Amazon (8).

The profile of victims in Brazil is the same as in other years: black and impoverished trans and transvestite women. Prostitution is the most frequent source of income. Among the victims, 76% were black and 24% white. The survey shows that trans and transvestite women are up to 38 times more likely to be murdered than trans men and non-binary people.

“No different from previous years, the fact that in 2022 most of those where it was possible to identify the activity, at least 54% of the murders were directed against transvestites and trans women who act as sex workers, the most exposed to direct violence and experience the stigma that marginalization processes impose on these professionals”, indicates the dossier.