Homophobic hate speech is now punishable by a prison sentence in Brazil, according to a landmark ruling issued by the country’s highest court.
In a 9-1 ruling issued Tuesday, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) determined that the country’s existing federal hate crime law also protects individual LGBTQ+ people. Although a 2019 ruling found that homophobic hate speech, like racism in Brazil, was a crime, that decision applied to the LGBTQ+ community as a whole, not to slurs against individual people. The Brazilian advocacy organization ABGLT argued that those protections were not adequate, and the court agreed.
The ruling means that people who violate the law could be subject to a prison sentence of anywhere from two to five years, according to AFP.
ABGLT posted to Facebook to celebrate the ruling, calling it “a historic achievement for our community.”
Speaking about the ruling, the lead judge on the case, Justice Edson Fachin, said that it was a “constitutional imperative” for LGBTQ+ citizens to have equal protection under the law, AFP reported. Only one judge
Facebook content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
While Brazil is known for having some of the strongest LGBTQ+ legal protections in the world, it also has one of the highest rates of violence against LGBTQ+ people. According to Brazilian newspaper Brasil de Fato, the country’s murder rate of trans people is one of the highest globally.
Still, the ruling represents a hard-fought victory on ABGLT’s behalf, and for Brazil’s LGBTQ+ population as a whole.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.
