Brazil’s Supreme Court equates LGBTQIA+ slurs with racial abuse

On Monday, August 21, 2023, Brazil’s Supreme Court (STF) leaned towards recognizing homophobic insults as equivalent to racial slurs, with a current vote count of 7 to 1 to expand the penalty for such offenses.

This judgment is in response to an appeal from ABGLT (Brazilian Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites, Transsexuals, and Intersex Individuals) that aims to extend the 2019 court ruling, which deemed homophobia as a form of racism.

Following the 2019 ruling, various judicial decisions across Brazil recognized homophobic offenses as racist crimes only when targeting the LGBTQIA+ community.

According to these rulings, individual racial insults could not be applied based on the court’s decision.

In addressing this matter, most of the justices, led by Justice Edson Fachin, concluded that homophobic slurs can be categorized under racism or racial insults.

Fachin emphasized that racial insult is a type of racist crime, and the court’s decision shouldn’t be limited, with penalties ranging from 2 to 5 years in prison.

Fachin asserted that limiting the interpretation to only traditional forms of racism while leaving the LGBTQIA+ community unprotected contradicts the broader constitutional system.

His perspective was supported by Justices Dias Toffoli, Nunes Marques, Rosa Weber, Cármen Lúcia, Alexandre de Moraes, and Luiz Fux. Meanwhile, Justice André Mendonça recused himself from the case.

This deliberation is taking place in the court’s virtual assembly, a format where justices submit their decisions electronically without in-person discussions.