National Domestic Violence Awareness Project

profeminist:

“In a country with one of the world’s highest rates of violence against gay and transgender people, where social media is deluged with homophobic rants, some LGBT+ people no longer trust the state to protect them – and are now taking personal defence into their own hands.

Martial arts classes for LGBT+ people are being taught in some of the country’s biggest cities – in Rio, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre. Some in the community say they’ve considered arming themselves.

“The country has changed,” said Doldan, 28. “Before, there was a sense that there were institutions that could help you. Judges, police, justice officials – you could rely on them. But now people feel comfortable saying things they wouldn’t have before and more comfortable doing things they used to not.”

“LGBT+ people in Brazil didn’t feel safe in the past, and we don’t feel safe now, but now the feeling is that this could be our future,” said Felipe Brandão Daier, an attorney with the Center for Reference and Defence of Diversity, a publicly funded organisation in Sao Paulo that serves the gay community.

“It’s because of Bolsonaro. But Bolsonaro was elected because Brazil is a homophobic country.”

Read the full piece here