LGBT persecution in Brazil

The alarm: Homosexuals are tricked into dating in order to be murdered

Since March alone, at least five gay men in Brazil have been murdered after the perpetrators lured them to the meeting place via dating apps, Reuters reports.

Another dozen or so men testify that they were robbed after being in contact with fake profiles. Figures from the civil rights group The Brazilian Forum on Public Security show at the same time that the number of murders motivated by hatred of homosexuals and transgender people has increased sharply in recent years.

Aurelio Nunes, the father of one of the murder victims, says that homosexuals are particularly vulnerable to crime because many of them do not dare to be open about their sexual orientation.

- Criminals know that they will not go to the police.

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Lawyers saw police and judges: "There is a fear"

Brazilian lawyers are criticizing the country's judicial system and believe that the number of hate crimes against homosexuals and transgender people is likely to be much higher than is being reported. Reuters reports.

Homophobia has been criminalized since 2019, but Sao Paulo-based lawyer Vanessa Vieira says police and judges are often reluctant to categorize crimes as homophobically motivated.

This, in turn, leads to skepticism from LGBTQ people, who hesitate to talk about what they have been exposed to, she says.

- There is a great fear of reporting.