The University of Brasília (UnB) approved, this Thursday (17), a resolution that authorizes the implementation of quotas for the entry of trans people into the institution’s more than 130 undergraduate courses. The measure, unanimously approved by the university’s Teaching, Research and Extension Council (Cepe), allocates 2% of vacancies to self-declared trans people, which covers transvestites, trans women, trans men, transmasculine people and non-binary people, in all the selection modalities for entry into the institution.
“This is a historic moment for our university and for the Federal District. UnB, in its tradition, having been a pioneer in the approval of quotas for black people, back in 2003 and, later, in the approval of ethnic-racial quotas in the post -graduation, in 2020, is now moving forward with trans quotas at graduation”, celebrated vice-rector Enrique Huelva, who chaired the meeting to approve the new resolution.
The expectation is that the quotas will come into effect in the August 2025 entrance exam, for entry in the first semester of 2026. Other entry modalities, such as the specific notice from UnB for those taking the National Secondary Education Examination (Enem), should also contemplate trans quotas.
“The person who opts for the quota will occupy the vacancy allocated to affirmative action only in the case of not achieving classification in the broad competition and if there is no trans person approved in the affirmative action modality in question, the remaining vacancies will be allocated to broad competition”, explained the Dean of Undergraduate Education at UnB, Diêgo Madureira.
Vulnerable population
Estimates from the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra) and other civil society organizations indicate that only 0.3% of trans people in Brazil are able to access higher education. In a recent technical note on Affirmative Action Policies for Trans and Transvestite People, launched in September 2024, Antra highlighted that not 30% of the trans population in Brazil even complete high school in the country, while 90% have to resort to to prostitution to obtain income.
Social worker and transfeminist activist Lucci Laporta graduated from UnB and says she almost dropped out of the course due to feelings of loneliness. “The feeling of being the only one in almost every space, of having a university where the social name was still disrespected. To receive a grade for each subject I had to ‘explain’ to each professor that my name in the electronic system was different, for example. I was threatened with physical violence and I was afraid of walking around the university alone”, she says.
Now, Laporta highlights, this fight continues from a new level. “We need to continue fighting to create a trans-inclusive environment, to transition UnB! And the greater presence of transvestites, trans men, trans women and all our diversity is a fundamental step towards this. With more trans students, we will have more strength in the fight to transform the academic environment”.
The vice-rector of UnB states that the institution is prepared to receive these students and that it will create additional mechanisms to allow these students to remain at our institution. “This without changing the identity or subjectivity of these people. Our expectation is that we can all learn from this community of students”, he states.
Next steps
With the new resolution in force, it will be up to the Permanent Committee for Monitoring Affirmative Action Policies (Copeaa) at UnB to establish procedures related to hetero-identification (confirmation) panels for trans candidates and candidates, along the lines of what is done with students who they declare themselves black, brown or indigenous, in ethnic-racial accounts.
UnB now joins other federal universities that have already implemented quotas for trans people, such as the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), the Federal University of Southern Bahia (UFSB), the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC).
Since 2017, UnB has guaranteed the use of its social name to trans and transvestite people. Furthermore, UnB approved, in 2021, a resolution that reserves 2% of internship vacancies for this group.
The institution has also been working with the implementation of quotas for trans and transvestite people in postgraduate programs, already present in units such as the Law and Communication faculties, the Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Public Management and the Arts institutes and Psychology.
