On 22 August 2023, the Supreme Court of Brazil ruled that homophobic insults are punishable by imprisonment. This change in the legislation has attracted the attention of the younger generation and especially Gen Z, who are often at the forefront of the fight against discrimination.

The court's ruling puts homophobic hate speech on the same legal footing as racist speech, which is also punishable by imprisonment in Brazil. The lead judge in the case, Edson Fachin, declared it a "constitutional duty" to ensure equality before the law for LGBTQ+ community . Although the court had already ruled in 2019 that homophobia was a crime, like racism, the previous ruling concerned insults against the whole community, not attacks against individuals. Penalties for the crime include two to five years in prison.

The fundamental decision was reached after the human rights group ABGLT initiated the court proceeding aiming to expand the right to protection for the victims of homophobic attacks. In the last year, 228 murders of people from the LGBTQ+ community were registered in Brazil. According to the rights group Transgender Europe, the country is the world's deadliest for trans people, with 1,741 killed from 2008 to 2022.

The latest ruling of the Supreme Court - welcomed by the youth and especially by Gen Z, is an important step towards greater equality and protection of the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens in Brazil.

Source: vbox7.com