Generally, laws prohibiting discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation are upheld in Brazil. Millions of the Brazilians identify as LGBT. Moreover, Sao Paolo hosts the world’s largest pride parade.

However, despite legal guarantees, homophobic violence remains at levels of concern in the country. LGBTQ Nation recently reported that 44% of the world’s anti-LGBTI violence occurs in Brazil.

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has provided detailed evidence of violent incidents in its 2008 report. More recently, the 2012 report entitled State-Sponsored Homophobia and the University of Oxford’s Forced Migration Review referred to continuing incidents of homophobic violence, including the murder of gays and lesbians. Over 4,800 people were targeted and 310 people were killed between 2012 and 2013, according to Global Post.

Human Rights Watch reported that in 2013 the national Human Rights Ombudsman received over 3,000 complaints of violence against LGBTI persons, 166% more than the number of complaints received in 2011.

The Human Rights Council welcomed Brazil’s steps to afford legal guarantees to LGBTI populations during the country’s 2012 Universal Periodic Review. However, one delegation found that the ongoing incidents of violence mandate a need for further initiatives. The 2013 ILGA Report on State-Sponsored Homophobia also mentions that members of churches and religious communities in Brazil’s parliamentary majority exert strong political pressure against LGBTI groups, which could account for the rejection of the anti-homophobia bill.

Halmenschlager v Holder, Attorney General, No. 08-9514, US Court of Appeals 10th Cir., 31 July 2009
The U.S. Court of Appeals denied asylum, albeit on questionable grounds. The court held: ‘Unquestionably, Halmenschlager showed that homosexuals may be mistreated in Brazil. But neither his testimony nor the documentary evidence requires a finding that he faces persecution if returned to Brazil […] The unvarnished fact that 180 homosexuals were killed in one year is not remarkable in a country of over 180 million, particularly when the report does not identify the killings as murder, contains no mention of the reason for the killings or any description of the perpetrators’.

Melo v Canada (the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) [2008] FC 150 
The Federal Court of Canada granted asylum to two gay men fleeing Brazil. The court ruled that the legal position of ‘homosexuals’ in Brazil is not conclusive on their real life situation. It relied on documentary evidence supporting a finding that state protection of ‘homosexuals’ is inadequate.

Decision No. 071743935 [2007] RRTA 301
The Australian Refugee Review Tribunal denied international protection on the grounds that ‘alienation and ostracism, discrimination, dislike and [the applicant’s] inability to lead a happy life’ do not amount, either singularly or cumulatively, to sufficiently serious harm to trigger a well-founded fear of persecution. The tribunal relied on evidence that anti-discrimination laws are generally enforced in Brazil for its finding.