LGBTQIA+ organizations and members of parliament appeal to the Supreme Court against Nikolas Ferreira's transphobic actions.
Group calls for investigation of Bolsonaro-supporting congressman for transphobic speech on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies.
Brazil Agency - Representative associations of the LGBTQIA+ community and 14 parliamentarians filed a criminal complaint with the Supreme Federal Court (STF) requesting that federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) be investigated for transphobia. The group argues that the federal deputy committed the crime in a speech, this Wednesday (8), on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies.
On the occasion, Nikolas Ferreira donned a yellow wig and said that he "felt like a woman" on International Women's Day and that "women are losing their place to men who feel like women." For organizations and lawmakers, the congressman's statement promotes hate speech by associating a transgender woman with "a threat that needs to be combated, an allusion to a supposed danger that doesn't exist." Another argument is that the congressman posted the video of the speech on social media, including photos of trans women, which violates parliamentary immunity.
>>> PCO comes out in defense of Nikolas Ferreira's mandate.
In the request, the group alleges that the deputy committed crimes provided for in the Penal Code and the Electoral Code, for discrimination based on gender, color, race or ethnicity.
After the speech on Wednesday, federal deputies advocated for the impeachment of Congressman Nikolas Ferreira. "We're talking about a man who, on International Women's Day, took up our speaking time to deliver a prejudiced, criminal, absurd, and disgusting statement. Transphobia goes beyond freedom of speech, which is guaranteed by parliamentary immunity. Transphobia is a crime in Brazil," said Congresswoman Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP), who also signed the criminal complaint sent to the Court.
On social media, Congressman Nikolas Ferreira denies that his statement was transphobic. “I defended the right of women not to lose their place in sports to trans women – given the biological difference – and not to have a man in the women's restroom. There is no transphobia in my statement. I illustrated the example with a (shocking) wig. Anything beyond that is hysteria and narrative.”
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office yesterday (8) called upon the Chamber of Deputies to investigate whether the deputy's speech constitutes an ethical violation. According to prosecutor Luciana Loureiro, Nikolas Ferreira used his time on the floor to, "under the pretext of speaking about International Women's Day, refer disrespectfully to women in general and offensively to trans women in particular."
Since 2019, transphobia has been equated to the crime of racism in the country and is now treated as a heinous crime.