Data indicates that the year should end with a total of approximately 340 deaths, the highest number recorded in recent years.
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The number of homicides in gay, lesbian, bisexual, transvestite and transsexual people should grow in 2016 and surpass the occurrences of recent years.
The trend is revealed by Bahia Gay Group, which annually prepares the LGBT Murders Report in Brazil. Preliminary data from the survey indicate that the year should end with a total of approximately 340 deaths, the highest number recorded in recent years.
“Last year (2015), there were 318 deaths. So far, we have 329 deaths, but we have some cases awaiting confirmation and the year should end with approximately 340 deaths. In the 36 years that I have been monitoring the data, we have never reached this number”, said Luiz Mott, anthropologist founder of Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB).
According to him, the increase is due to several factors, such as the more systematized collection of information and the conservative reaction to the greater number of people coming to terms with their sexual status. “Today, there are more homosexuals and trans people coming out of the closet because of gay parades and other campaigns; and this leaves them more exposed to situations of violence, which has led to a general increase in crimes”, explained Mott.
The study shows that the majority of deaths (195) occurred on public roads, due to gunshots (92), stabbings (82), asphyxiation (40) and beatings (25), among other violent causes. The murder of gays tops the list with 162 cases, followed by transvestites (80), female transsexuals (50) and male transsexuals (13). The institution receives information about deaths from other entities, from family members and friends of the victims, but the main source of the database are cases published in the press. The survey is recognized by the Special Secretariat for Human Rights.
Underreporting of deaths is still a challenge for entities that monitor the problem. But, just based on the results of the latest report, the NGO found that an LGBT person dies every 28 hours in Brazil. And if the upward trend is confirmed, the interval could drop to 24 hours. “It’s just the tip of the iceberg, because so many are murdered and witnesses hide it,” Mott said.
Northeast leads
The study shows that the leadership in cases in recent years comes from the Northeast, but other regions have emerged with serious cases. “I attribute this to conservatism and lack of information. This year's surprise is the state of Amazonas, which has recorded 29 deaths so far. Proportionally, the data is shocking, although São Paulo always records the highest absolute number”, said Mott.
Among the cases recorded is the recent death of street vendor Luís Carlos Ruas, beaten on Christmas night by two men, in a subway station in São Paulo, while defending homeless people and transvestites. The GGB classified the attack as an LGBTphobic crime. Although it is the death of a heterosexual, indirectly “there is also an LGBTphobic crime. After all, the confusion started with the defense of a transvestite”, explained Agatha Lima, member of the São Paulo LGBT Council and the Association of Transsexuals, Transvestites, Transgenders.
Around “99% of crimes against LGBTs are aggravated by intolerance, in addition to the vulnerability of groups such as transvestites, who are generally on the streets in more marginalized conditions, involved in prostitution and drug use due to the exclusion suffered in other spaces of society. ,” Mott explained. The opinion is shared by other organizations defending the rights of Trans people, which includes transsexual and transvestite men and women.
World leader
The high rate of violence led Brazil to lead the world ranking of murders of transgender people in 2016. Of the 295 deaths of transgender people registered until September this year in 33 countries, 123 occurred in Brazil, according to data released in November by the NGO Transgender Europe. Mexico, the United States, Colombia and Venezuela follow Brazil in absolute numbers in the ranking of transgender deaths.
The European report shows that, from January 2008 to September 2016, 2264 deaths of transsexuals and transgender people were recorded in 68 countries. In the eight years of research, Brazil accounted for 900 of the total cases, the highest absolute number on the list. “Brazil has been the world champion in crimes against the LGBT population for decades. Compared to the USA, for example, we kill 30 to 40 LGBT people per month, while 20 die there per year. The main reason is individual and cultural LGBTphobia, which increases lethal crimes in our country”, says Mott.
Counselor Agatha Lima said that the associations are talking to the UN about this issue. “First of all, this is absurd. Secondly, while Brazil is the country that kills the most, it is also the country that has the largest clientele for trans sex workers. Across the country, there are 1,4 million trans people, and 90% of them make a living from the sex market, because of the exclusion and prejudice they suffer in the formal job market, at home and in schools,” she said.
Source: noticiasaominuto
