Transgender rights in Brazil

History Before 2009 In 1993, the first Brazilian national meeting was held among transgender individuals. This meeting was known as the National Meeting of Transvestites and Liberated People. Brazil helped organize the launch of the Yogyakarta Principles in 2007. Unanimously, the 3rd Class of the Superior Court of Justice approved allowing the option of name and gender change on the birth certificate of a transgender person who has undergone sex reassignment surgery. The understanding of the ministers was that it made no sense to allow people to have such surgery performed in the free federal health system and not allow them to change their name and gender in the civil registry. The ministers followed the vote of the rapporteur, Nancy Andrighi, who argued that "if Brazil consents to the possibility of surgery, it should also provide the means for the individual to have a decent life in society". In the opinion of the rapporteur, preventing the record change for a transgender person who has gone through sex reassignment surgery could constitute a new form of social prejudice, and cause more psychological instability. She explained: According to Minister of the Superior Court of Justice, transgender people should have their social integration ensured with respect to their dignity, autonomy, intimacy and privacy, which must therefore incorporate their civil registry. Since 2018 The Supreme Federal Court ruled on 1 March 2018, that a transgender person has the right to change their official name and sex without the need of surgery or professional evaluation, just by self-declaration of their psychosocial identity. On 29 June, the , a body of the National Justice Council published the rules to be followed by registry offices concerning the subject. In 2020, a study was conducted to understand the quality of life of Brazilian transgender children. 32 participants were involved in the study, and they were either interviewed or placed into focus groups to gather their perspective. At the federal level, the main law that guarantees the use of the corporate name is from April 2016. This decree regulated the use of the social name by bodies and entities of the direct, autonomous, and foundational federal public administration. This includes bodies such as the INSS, Receita Federal (CPF), hospitals and universities. Since then, the social name has been recognized in various contexts, including the SUS, banks, and education systems. Non-binary recognition == Transgender healthcare ==

Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), the public health system in Brazil, provides (PrTr or PT-SUS, ). This includes psychological counseling, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgeries. Since 2008, the SUS has offered sex reassignment surgeries free of charge, in accordance with a court ruling that recognizes the importance of these procedures for the health and well-being of trans people. In addition, Ordinance No. 2,803 of 2013 redefined and expanded the Transsexualization Process, ensuring a more comprehensive and inclusive approach. And it made adjustments in 2023. A resolution from Federal Council of Medicine in 2019, after the official releasing of ICD-11 recognized other identity expressions related to gender diversity as part of gender incongruence. ADPF 787, a case from STF in 2024, ruled that transgender people should have access to traditionally gendered care, such as gynecology and urology, regardless of their gender entry in electronic systems or documents. In the same year, Ministry of Health announced expanding the number of services aimed at the trans population, following resolution of the Federal Council of Medicine. However, right-wing politicians threaten to block the project. Healthcare for minors In April 2025, Brazil's Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) passed a resolution banning gender-affirming care for minors, but reduced the age for gender affirming surgical procedures from 25 to 21. As justification for the latter, the CFM cited a new law passed in 2022, which lowered the minimum age limit for sterilization procedures such as tubal ligation and vasectomies in the country from 25 to 21. A few days later, LGBTQ+ advocates filed an ADI (Direct Action of Unconstitutionality) to the Supreme Court in an attempt to get the ban on gender-affirming care for minors overturned. On July 25, 2025, a Federal Court blocked the Federal Council of Medicine's resolution, restoring gender-affirming care for minors nationwide. Gender reassignment surgery The first male-to-female gender-affirming surgery in Brazil was Performed by Dr. Roberto Farina in the 1970s. He was prosecuted for his actions but was eventually acquitted of all charges in 1979. In 2008, Brazil's public health system started providing free sex reassignment surgery in compliance with a court order. Federal prosecutors had argued that gender reassignment surgery was covered under a constitutional clause guaranteeing medical care as a basic right. The Regional Federal Court agreed, saying in its ruling: Patients must be at least 18 years old and diagnosed as transgender with no personality disorders, and must undergo psychological evaluation with a multidisciplinary team for at least two years, begins with 16 years old. The national average is of 100 surgeries per year, according to the Ministry of Health of Brazil. == Transgender discrimination ==

Brazil has had the highest amount of transgender murder victims in the world since 2008, More recently, the number of transgender women murdered in Brazil went up 45% in 2020, and in 2022–2023 Brazil made up 31% of recorded killings of transgender people. This has led to the average lifespan of a transgender Brazilian being less than half that of a cisgender Brazilian. Professor of psychology Jaqueline Gomes de Jesus has argued that structural and interpersonal violence directed at transgender people in Brazil would satisfy articles 2(a) to 2(d) of the Genocide Convention if this were viewed as genocide. Activists in Brazil have also described the targeting of transgender people, particularly Afro-Brazilian transgender women, as a genocide. The neologism (meaning transgendercide) has been adopted as a term used in Brazil to classify transgender genocide. == Gender quotas ==

As of 2024, one in three universities offer transgender quotas, such as Federal University of Southern Bahia, Federal University of Bahia, Federal University of ABC, Fluminense Federal University, Federal University of Santa Catarina, and University of Brasília. == See also ==