The organizers of WorldPride in Washington, D.C., may issue a warning to transgender people from other countries about traveling to the capital for the event as the Trump administration targets the trans community with policies like the military ban on transgender servicemembers and requiring passports to match a person’s sex at birth.
“It’s possible that we may actually issue a statement telling trans folks internationally not to come, or if they come, they come at their own risk,” Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said.
The Trump administration said it only recognizes two unchangeable sexes: male and female.
Pride in Washington, D.C., on June 8, 2024. Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file
“This is something that my community faces every day, is worrying whether or not this space is gonna be safe for them,” Advocates for Trans Equality Senior National Organizer Devon Ojeda said.
Ojeda said he and his trans friends often worry about being targeted or harassed, and he understands if people decide not to attend WorldPride out of safety concerns. But, he added, it’s also important for the community to come together.
“I also am in the mindset of always continuing to be in these spaces — to say I am trans, I am visible. You’re not going to take that away from me,” he said.
Organizers of this year’s WorldPride — an international celebration that is held in a new location about every two years — expect about 2 million people to attend this year’s event in D.C., which will run from May 17 to June 8.
Extensive safety measures for the event include fencing, security checks, police officers and web surveillance to monitor for online threats.
Russia’s General Prosecutor on Thursday banned the Elton John AIDS Foundation from operating in the country, claiming it’s part of an effort “by the ‘collective West’ to discredit traditional values and escalate social tensions” in Russia.
The ban stopped short of deeming the foundation an “extremist” group under the umbrella of a 2023 order by Russia’s Supreme Court designating the so-called “international LGBT social movement” as an “extremist organization.”
That declaration paved the way for increased persecution of LGBTQ+ activists throughout the country and abroad, adding to “gay propaganda” laws that were already erasing LGBTQ+ identity from public life in Russia.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation is registered in both the U.S. and Britain as non-governmental organizations. Both NGOs are now officially designated as “undesirable organizations” in Russia. The designation exposes foundation staff and partners to potential criminal prosecution.
John established his namesake foundation in 1992 to increase access to health care related to HIV/AIDS and address anti-LGBTQ+ stigma associated with the disease. The foundation has raised more than $600 million to support over 3,100 projects in 95 countries, including Russia.
According to Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian federal agency for public health and consumer rights, more than 1.2 million people in the country carry the HIV virus, the highest per capita rate in Europe.
John has a large fan base in Russia, where he’s performed multiple sold-out concerts. He’s also been outspoken about what he calls unacceptable discrimination against gay people by Russian authorities.
In 2014, John published an open letter condemning Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, enacted the year before and expanded in successive legislation.
“When a musician plays along with the promoters of democracy, you get propaganda,” the General Prosecutor’s office said in an overtly political statement announcing the ban of the NGOs, posted to its official Telegram channel and reported by Reuters. “And if Elton John is at the piano, it is not just anti-Russian propaganda.”
In a separate statement on its website, the prosecutor’s office pointed to the foundation’s promotion of “non-traditional sexual relationships, Western family models, and gender reassignment.”
The statement also accused the foundation of taking part in what it called a coordinated Western campaign to “denigrate Russia” over its war in Ukraine, referred to by its official designation as a “special military operation.”
President Vladimir Putin has portrayed the battles against both Ukraine and the “international LGBT social movement” as twin fronts in an existential struggle with a decadent West.
LGBTQ+ activists Maeve Alcina Pieescu and Maryam Ravish were arrested by the Taliban last month while trying to flee Afghanistan. According to the U.K.-based human rights non-profit the Peter Tatchell Foundation, the two women face possible torture and execution.
“They are expected to be tortured to reveal the names of other LGBTs and sentenced to a long jail term or possibly executed,” said Nemat Sadat, CEO of Afghan LGBT+ network Roshaniya, which is working with the foundation to press for the two women’s release.
In a March 31 press release, the Peter Tatchell Foundation said that 19-year-old Ravish and 23-year-old Pieescu, who is trans, had planned to board a flight from Kabul to Iran with Ravish’s 20-year-old partner Parwen Hussaini on March 20.
“When Maryam and Maeve went to board the plane, they were detained by the Taliban’s intelligence unit who searched their phones and discovered LGBT+ content,” Sadat said. “Maeve and Maryam were beaten by the Taliban.”
According to Sadat, Ravish’s family had forced her to marry a man. Pieescu had been trying to help her escape the country “at great personal risk.”
Hussaini, a Roshaniya member, was able to board the flight in Iran as of March 31. She later recorded a video in which she said that since Pieescu’s and Ravish’s arrest, both her own and Ravish’s family have threatened her life. She also said that Pieescu’s family in Afghanistan has “dismissed” Roshaniya’s offer to work with them to secure her release.
However, Pieescu’s Michigan-based sister, Susan Battaglia, provided a statement to the Peter Tatchell Foundation saying that she is “distraught” over her sister’s imprisonment.
“My family in Afghanistan is very anxious about Maeve being tortured and killed,” Battaglia said. “During the Taliban’s interrogation, Maeve confessed that she is not a Muslim and doesn’t believe in Islam. This is scary for our family since the penalty for apostasy — under Sharia law — is death. We ask from [sic] the world governments to demand that Maeve be released from prison and safely leave the country.”
Hussaini said that while she has had no word from Ravish and does not know “what situation they are in now,” it is possible that the two women have been put in solitary confinement and could be sentenced to death by stoning.
The Taliban returned to power following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, instituting an immediate return to its interpretation of Sharia law. As Sadat noted, under Taliban rule, homosexuality is forbidden and women are required to have a male chaperone if they wish to leave their homes.
In October 2023, Afghan LGBTQ+ rights group Rainbow Afghanistan detailed the harrowing abuses queer people in the country have faced since 2021. In an open letter, the group said that LGBTQ+ Afghans had been tortured, stoned to death, sexually assaulted, and forced into heterosexual marriages, among other atrocities, while “a large number of members of the LGBT community lost their lives due to suicide.” The group called on the United Nations and international human rights organizations to act.
Hussaini described the threat that she, Pieescu, and Ravish face from the Taliban and their own relatives as “existential.”
“We ask human rights organizations and international LGBT+ organizations that work towards helping LGBT+ people to please work with us to pursue our freedom and save our loved ones from harm’s way,” she said.
Sadat, similarly, called on Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, OutRight International, ILGA Asia, Stonewall, Rainbow Railroad, and the Human Rights Campaign to “spread the word about the arrest of Mariam and Maeve and pressure the Taliban regime to release these two brave LGBT+ Afghan human rights defenders.”
Trinidad and Tobago has reinstated its ban on homosexuality, which was lifted by the Caribbean nation’s High Court in 2018.
That year, the High Court in the Christian-majority nation ruled in a lawsuit brought by LGBTQ+ activist Jason Jones that Sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offenses Act are “irrational and illegal” because they violate the rights to privacy and freedom of expression.
“What I think the judge pointed out was ‘here every creed and race find an equal place,’ and I think we must all come together now and embrace each other in true love and respect,” Jones said at the time.
But on March 25, the Court of Appeals reversed that decision, saying that only Parliament can overturn the country’s ban on homosexuality. The Court of Appeals also reduced the maximum sentence associated with homosexuality to five years in prison. Prior to 2018, the maximum penalty was 25 years in prison.
“Judges cannot change the law,” Tuesday’s ruling states. “We give effect to Parliament’s intention…. It is, therefore, left to Parliament to repeal the criminalization of buggery and the related offense of gross indecency by legislation. It is an emotive issue which engages vibrant discussion in the court of public opinion.”
“Parliament is ultimately responsible for ensuring that laws reflect the evolving standards of a democratic society. That is their role and function. Any provisions found to be unconstitutional must be taken from the statute books by Parliament through legislative reform and not by judicial overreach.”
Jones spoke out against the Court of Appeals decision.
“We are talking about the rights of some 100,000 LGBTQIA+ citizens in [Trinidad and Tobago],” he told Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. “Why are we spending all this money and retaining these laws?”
“The modernization of our democracy is at stake here, and this is the beginning of this modernization.”
In the original 2018 case, religious conservatives argued that God’s wrath would be visited on Trinidad and Tobago if the anti-homosexuality laws were overturned. Conservatives argued that legalizing homosexuality would violate their religious beliefs.
The judge said the ruling “is not an assessment or denial of the religious beliefs of anyone.”
Christian conservatives also told the press that they’re worried about “homosexual rights trumping heterosexual rights.”
Each year, Rainbow Railroad receives more than ten thousand requests for help from LGBTQI+ individuals facing violence and persecution worldwide. These firsthand accounts provide unparalleled insight into the urgent realities of forced displacement and the systemic barriers preventing LGBTQI+ persons from accessing safety.
Our unique data not only informs direct interventions but also strengthens global advocacy. By analyzing trends in displacement, resettlement, and protection gaps, we advance policy solutions that challenge discriminatory asylum systems, push for inclusive refugee protections, and hold governments accountable.
At a time when anti-LGBTQI+ laws are intensifying and asylum pathways are shrinking, our work underscores a critical truth: the protection of LGBTQI+ refugees is a matter of fundamental human rights. The following policy recommendations outline urgent actions that states, international organizations, and multilateral bodies must take to ensure that LGBTQI+ forcibly displaced persons are not left behind.
Recommendations for states, international organizations, and multilateral bodies:
Strengthen partnerships with LGBTQI+ civil society by funding and supporting organizations with direct access to LGBTQI+ FDPs to enhance protection, service provision, and advocacy efforts.
Establish and expand dedicated LGBTQI+-specific resettlement pathways, including government-assisted and private sponsorship programs, to ensure sustainable and long-term protection solutions.
Develop targeted resettlement pathways for LGBTQI+ internally displaced persons (IDPs), recognizing that many remain at extreme risk within their countries of origin and require urgent solutions.
Implement flexible protection pathways for LGBTQI+ Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), offering both short-term emergency relocation and long-term resettlement options based on individual protection needs.
Hold states accountable for failing to meet international resettlement commitments and for undermining access to asylum, including through carrier sanctions and externalized border enforcement measures that disproportionately impact LGBTQI+ asylum seekers.
Increase funding for LGBTQI+ civil society organizations and regional networks to strengthen in-transit support systems and develop durable South-South resettlement pathways.
Appoint and empower Special Envoys on LGBTQI+ issues within key states and multilateral bodies to coordinate international responses to LGBTQI+ forced displacement.
Strengthen crisis response mechanisms by integrating LGBTQI+ protection into broader humanitarian frameworks, ensuring that LGBTQI+ FDPs are not overlooked in emergency response planning.
Expand multilateral coordination efforts, including investing in mechanisms such as the Queer Forced Displacement Initiative (QFDI), to enhance knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and policy development across international actors.
Ana Esquivel no longer feels like her heart stops every time she sees a police officer.
“We’ve been told that they won’t harass or mistreat us here, but back home, if a male name is spotted on your ID, you could spend the night detained,” said the 50-year-old transgender woman. She fled Cuba fearing for her safety and arrived in Mexico earlier this year.
Esquivel settled in the southern city of Tapachula, hoping to dodge the Trump’s administration crackdown on migration and reach the United States. But unlike many who turned back after their Border Patrol appointments got canceled, returning home is not an option for LGBTQ migrants.
Transgender women Rachel Perez, left, and Ana Esquivel, who applied for asylum in Mexico, at Casa Frida.Moises Castillo / AP
“The LGBT population doesn’t necessarily leave their countries for the same reasons as others,” said Mariana de la Cruz, operations director at Casa Frida, a shelter that supports LGBTQ migrants and lost 60% of its funds after President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of foreign assistance programs in January.
“They leave due to discrimination and violence based on their gender identity,” de la Cruz said. “Beyond economic reasons or the American Dream, they leave because they need to survive.”
The flux of migrants at the Southern Mexican border with Guatemala dipped after Trump announced plans to restrict refugees and asylum seekers, contending he wants to stop illegal entry and border crime. The Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid in Tapachula has not updated its public data since December 2024, but the transformation is clear.
Hundreds of migrants no longer flood a public square, waiting for a response to their refugee applications. And though lines still form around the commission’s headquarters, locals say the crowds are smaller.
At a nearby Catholic shelter, administrator Herber Bermúdez said they have hosted up to 1,700 migrants at a time, but it’s closer to 300 with the shutdown of CBP One, the U.S. border app that facilitated legal entry into the country.
“The change was substantial,” Bermúdez said. “By Jan. 20, we had around 1,200 people, but as the app stopped working, people started heading back to their countries.”
In contrast, help requests addressed to Casa Frida have not dropped.
“All of the people we support were victims of violence,” said Sebastián Rodríguez, who works at the shelter. “They can’t go back.”
In Tapachula since 2022, Casa Frida staff review on average 80 applications per month, assessing the most at-risk. According to Rodríguez, nonbinary and transgender migrants are frequently vulnerable to attacks.
Itzel Aguilar teaches English to migrants at Casa Frida in Tapachula.Moises Castillo / AP
The shelter doesn’t have enough resources to help everyone, but they bring on about 70 new people monthly and can support up to 200 LGBTQ people at any given time.
Several migrants recently told The Associated Press they were kidnapped by cartel members as they set foot in Mexico and had to give up their possessions to be released.
LGBTQ people face more violence, Rodríguez said. Transgender women often dress as men to avoid mockery and being spotted by criminals. If they are spared and reach a shelter, staff assign them to male dorms. If they leave and try to rent a room elsewhere, landlords seem unhospitable or demand unthinkable fees.
“That’s why programs like ours are needed,” Rodríguez said.
According to the shelter, about 40% of its population was affected by the end of CBP One app and the mass cancellation of appointments.
“Some people feel discouraged and hopeless,” Rodríguez said. “But many have applied for asylum in Mexico.”
Among its services, Casa Frida can provide a roof and meals for up to 12 people for three months. The organization’s other programs can help several more migrants by providing legal guidance on remaining in Mexico, advice on finding temporary jobs with inclusive environments, psychological counseling and tips for renting apartments under fair conditions.
“Most people just think of us as a shelter, but providing refuge is only the core of what we do,” Rodríguez said. “Our goal is to reintegrate violence victims into society.”
The shelter operates in three locations: Mexico City, where it was founded in 2020 and mostly supports locals; Tapachula, which mainly receives migrants from Cuba, Honduras, Venezuela, El Salvador, Perú and Haiti; and Monterrey, where those at grave risk are transferred to be safe at an undisclosed address.
Cuban Rasiel Elias Fernandez cooks at Casa Frida in Mexico City last year.Alfredo Estrella / AFP via Getty Images
Manuel Jiménez, 21, was welcomed at the Mexico City station in February. He arrived from a state near the capital when harassment by family members became unbearable.
Jiménez initially hoped to reach the U.S. and he traveled north in November 2024. All went well until border patrol officers detained him in Arizona and he was deported. But it was dangerous for him to stay in his hometown.
“Someone told me about this shelter because I wanted to find a place where I could feel at peace,” said Jiménez, who identifies as bisexual. “Back home, there were people who wanted to hurt me, verbally and physically.”
Now living at Casa Frida, he started working at a nearby restaurant and hopes to save money that will enable him to find a home of his own.
Back in Tapachula, Esquivel applied for Mexican refugee status. Around 85% of Casa Frida’s migrants get a positive response, so she’s optimistic. Maybe one day, she hopes, she could go back to school, land a job and relocate.
“I want to stay here and become part of this country,” Esquivel said. “I want to do it the right way and I’m grateful to Casa Frida for helping me get there.”
She learned about the shelter from another trans woman who also fled Cuba after feeling threatened by police.
“I was nearly arrested,” said Rachel Pérez, 51. “In Cuba, we are discriminated and persecuted. We leave in search for a better life.”
According to Esquivel, she was accused of prostitution — which is not illegal under Cuban law — for repeatedly walking alone at night. Police warned her a few times, but she kept going out until she was detained and transferred to a male prison.
“I was raped there,” said Esquivel, who remained imprisoned for a year. “I was only 21 and the inmates abused me. Within time, I learned how to defend myself, but those were very difficult times I won’t forget.”
Staff at Casa Frida constantly updates their protocols to help migrants like Esquivel. But keeping operations running has proved challenging due to the U.S. aid cuts. According to De la Cruz, worrisome notifications popped by Jan. 24, and a few weeks later, 60% of their budget was gone.
“We’ve been looking everywhere to find new sustainability alternatives,” she said. “We are part of a network focused on LGBT mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean — 13 organizations in 10 countries — and at least 50% of them took a hit.”
Funding campaigns and ongoing meetings with European and local leaders might bring a solution, but concerns haven’t ceased and the team could significantly diminish its operations.
“Nothing is written in stone and we don’t know what could happen next,” De la Cruz said.
A new study has shown that a number of terrorist groups are targeting LGBTQ+ communities.
The research, published in PS: Political Science & Politics, and led by extremism expert Dr Jared Dmello from the University of Adelaide’s School of Social Sciences, showed that extremist groups with contrasting ideologies overlapped in their hatred of LGBTQ+ people.
“We found a wide variety of extremist groups, which on the surface have nothing in common, are actually engaging in similar attacks on the same marginalised communities, Dmello was quoted as saying by Cosmos magazine.
“Both Islamic extremist groups and far-right terrorist groups actively target the queer community through propaganda and violence.
‘Similar tactics and propaganda used to justify attacks’
“It was quite surprising to me just how much the far-right and Islamic extremists are engaging in similar tactics, messaging and propaganda to justify their attacks against the LGBTQ+ community.
“Sadly, this reflects broader political movements around the world that also target the human rights of this increasingly vulnerable population.”
Talking about the study, he said: “The article even features propaganda created by the Russian government, claiming that NATO-trained mosquitoes in Ukrainian labs were designed to spread a ‘gay virus’ that would selectively infect only ethnic Russians.
“In response, some Russian supermarkets now sell a specialised mosquito repellent designed to protect against this so-called gay virus.”
In light of the findings, Dmello, who was aided in the research by professor Mia Bloom and Dr Sophia Moskalenko, called for further investigation into extremist narratives.
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In 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned that the LGBTQ+ community in the US would be at risk of attacks during the 2024 US presidential campaign.
The African Human Rights Campaign (AHRC) called for a boycott of WorldPride – an international Pride celebration held in a different city every few years, with this year’s festivities to be held in D.C. – citing concerns about travel safety because of the Trump administration’s hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community. The statement echoes a similar statement put out by Germany.
WorldPride will take place in Washington, D.C., between May 17 and June 8. It is meant to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community’s resilience and history. However, recent attacks on the community by the federal government have made this year’s event a dangerous protest.
This is especially true for foreign visitors to the United States. It has become the center of international debate over the safety and visibility of LGBTQ+ people under the Trump administration’s attack on their rights. The president has violated court orders to halt deportations, which has made LGBTQ+ travelers even more weary of whether the laws against false imprisonment will protect them.
“The United States is no longer a free democratic country that WorldPride signed up for,” wrote AHRC Executive Director Melanie Nathan in her statement.
The AHRC advocates for LGBTQ+ Africans and asylum seekers and is now comparing attending WorldPride in the U.S. to legitimizing Apartheid in South Africa. Pointing to recent policies such as the gutting of asylum protections and increased hostility for trans and nonbinary people, the group says that visibility in a hostile environment will not guarantee safety.
“African Human Rights Coalition calls on WorldPride to come out and make the strongest of condemnation and solidarity statements, to cite all the antagonism that this current United States presents to its LGBTQI+ citizens,” said a spokesperson for the AHRC.
WorldPride organizers are facing increasing attacks on their funding in the wake of the administration’s attempts to end diversity initiatives. Booz Allen Hamilton, a firm with federal contracts, withdrew its sponsorship in February following Trump’s executive order to erase DEI efforts.
Despite concerns raised by organizations outside the U.S., WorldPride organizers are resisting the boycott call, emphasizing that participation is an act of resistance. They say that canceling or relocating the event outside the United States is not an option and see it as an opportunity to resist the government’s discrimination and demonstrate collective strength.
“A boycott of WorldPride sends the wrong message,” Ryan Boss, Capital Pride Alliance executive director, told The Advocate in a statement. “We need to show up together, show resilience and resistance to ensure we remain visible and heard.”
People are still concerned about travel restrictions. Capital Pride Alliance has stated they will make efforts to ensure the safety of those who plan to attend by working with law enforcement and federal agencies. The AHRC, however, argues that those agencies can not be trusted.
“To the transgender and nonbinary people who are considering joining us in D.C. for WorldPride, I want you to know that we are working tirelessly with agencies and advocates to ensure that you are able to safely and securely travel to and from the U.S.,” Boss said. “Our local community is vibrant and diverse, and we are excited to welcome everyone. For those that choose not to, or are unable to, join us in D.C., know that we need you to remain a part of this movement. Please stay active where you are and join us virtually if you are able.”
Though times remain uncertain, WorldPride is moving forward with preparations. WorldPride is planning the largest LGBTQ+ music festival in history. The event will run from June 6 to 8 and feature performances from Doechii, Kim Petras, Jennifer Lopez, Troy Sivan, and RuPaul, along with other performers.
Rachel Maddow reported Thursday night that a young gay Venezuelan man, deported without due processunder a Trump administration directive, has been identified publicly for the first time. His name is Andrys. He is 23 years old. He is a makeup artist. And he has vanished into a Salvadoran mega-prison.
Lindsay Toczylowski, who identified the man only by his first name, shared photos of the 23-year-old on The Rachel Maddow Show. The Advocate is not using Andrys’s last name due to concerns over his safety. Toczylowski said the Trump administration forcibly removed her client from the United States without a court hearing or deportation order.
She explained that her team decided to share his identity because the government had already disclosed it in an internal document. “Names and identities of people have been shared today via a list,” she said. “And so we know that it is inevitable that our client will be identified, and we feel it’s important to let the world know who Andrys, our client, is because he is a human being. He is a young professional from Venezuela. He’s a makeup artist. He is a gay man.”.
Andrys had arrived in the U.S. seeking asylum, his lawyer said. He was detained after immigration officials flagged his tattoos as possible signs of gang affiliation—a claim his attorney says is unfounded. “These are not the tattoos of somebody who is involved with gangs,” Toczylowski said. “These are normal tattoos that you would see on anybody at a coffee shop anywhere in the United States or Venezuela.”
According to Venezuelan independent news outlet Crónica Uno, which interviewed the young man’s mother, Andrys last spoke to his family shortly before his disappearance. They believed he would be deported to Venezuela. He never arrived.
Instead, he is now being held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, known as Cecot—a sprawling, 40,000-capacity mega-prison used to detain suspected gang members. The Trump administration deported 238 Venezuelan men to Cecot despite a federal judge’s emergency order to stop the flights on March 15.
“Today, we have confirmation from the government—one of the few groups or attorneys that have confirmation—that our client is indeed in El Salvador,” Toczylowski said.
International human rights groups have condemned the prison for extreme overcrowding, systemic abuse, denial of medical care, and a communications blackout. “There’s no phone, mail or visits,” political scientist Mneesha Gellman toldThe Guardian. LGBTQ+ individuals are at heightened risk inside the facility, where detainees are often identified—and sometimes targeted—based on tattoos alone.
Andrys was scheduled to appear in U.S. immigration court to challenge the government’s allegations last week. He never appeared. “ICE never presented him,” Toczylowski said. “The immigration judge said, ‘How is it possible that he’s been removed if there’s no removal order?’ And the ICE attorney that was in the courtroom said, ‘I don’t know.’”
Lindsay Toczylowski on MSNBC
Toczylowski said ICE has since told her team it will not facilitate communication with Andrys or make him available for his next immigration hearing. “They will not facilitate communication with our client, because he has, in their words, been removed,” she said. “And they will not make him available for that hearing in two weeks.”
Maddow described the case as part of “one of the most dramatic crises of this new presidency,” and said the administration’s legal argument amounts to claiming unchecked executive authority. “Just on Trump’s say-so, you’re gone out of the country, disappeared indefinitely,” she said.
The Advocate contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment on Friday. The agency did not immediately respond.
Toczylowski warned that her client’s case reflects a broader assault on due process and the right to seek asylum. “We’re pursuing all avenues,” she said. “Because our client’s life is at risk. We’re concerned for his safety. And the fact that he was forcibly taken from the United States with no due process—it’s just—it’s something that really shocks the conscience in a way that we haven’t seen since family separation happened in 2018.”
In it, the CNMP, the national body that oversees the country’s prosecutors in Brazil, offers detailed guidelines for tackling school violence and emphasizes the importance of combating structural racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of discrimination. Crucially, it also defends teachers’ freedom to educate students about these topics.
The recommendation comes at a crucial moment, as human rights and sexuality education have faced continuous attacks for over a decade in Brazil. Lawmakers, officials, and anti-rights groups have weaponized education for political gain, claiming that discussions of racism, gender, sexuality, diversity, and other important topics constitute “indoctrination” or “gender ideology.”
The fallacious discourse of so-called “gender ideology” emerged in the 1990s, created by ultraconservative Catholic movements to attack advances for the rights of women and LGBT people at UN. In recent years, the far-right has adopted this language to promote moral panic and discredit public policies to tackle inequality.
The CNMP’s recommendation also comes in the context of a wider crisis of school violence in Brazil. In 2023, a series of brutal killings in schools led the government to characterize the phenomenon as an “epidemic” and to adopt measures to tackle it. Experts have highlighted that, in addition to factors such as harmful online content and isolation during the pandemic, harassment of teachers and attacks on inclusive education exacerbate the problem.
Suppressing discussions on human rights and sexuality undermines efforts to create an anti-discriminatory culture that can overcome violent practices and promote mutual understanding in schools and beyond.
The recommendation is not binding but offers normative guidance on how prosecutors should act when faced with attacks on human rights and sexuality education by urging them to develop rules, processes, and structures to support teachers and students. The recommendation can also help weaken efforts by some prosecutors who may act against this protected educational material for ideological reasons.
In a 2022 report, Human Rights Watch analyzed more than 200 bills and laws passed at the federal, state, and municipal levels that aim to ban discussions on gender and sexuality in schools, based on research conducted by Fernanda Moura and Renata Aquino. Teachers we interviewed have faced harassment from elected officials and community members, as well as lawsuits for addressing these topics, with some summoned to provide statements to police or other authorities.
For years, Brazilian education experts and advocacy groups, such as the Coalition against Ultraconservatism in Education, Educational Action, and Teachers Against School Without Party have also been warning about these heinous attacks.
In 2018 and 2022, 80 education and human rights organizations in Brazil published and updated a manual to protect teachers in response to attempts to ban discussions in schools about gender, race, sexuality, and critical perspectives on Brazilian history and inequality, as well as in response to the increase in the harassment, threats, censorship, and harassment via the courts, of education professionals.
Despite these challenges, progress has been made, much of it due to the actions of organized sectors of civil society. In 2020 and 2024, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that laws aimed at banning or silencing human rights and sexuality education were unconstitutional, ordering the Brazilian state to promote these topics as a way of combating the sexual abuse of children and adolescents and violence against girls, women and LGBT people.
In October 2023, the Chamber of Deputies held the first public hearing on harassment against teachers for topics covered in the classroom. In 2023, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Rights supported the launch of the National Observatory on Violence against Educators to study the harassment and censorship of teachers.
In response to the wave of school violence, the government also announced a series of measures to support schools, including the provision of additional funding for security training, infrastructure and equipment. The government also created a Technical Working Group to Combat Bullying, Prejudice and Discrimination in Education. The group aims to give effect to a Supreme Court decision that ordered the creation of policies to prevent and combat discrimination based on gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation in schools.
The new CNMP recommendation is another step in the right direction and responds to the desire expressed by the Brazilian population in the Education, Values and Rights survey (2022): 73% of people said they were in favor of sexual education in schools and more than 90% understand that it is essential to prevent sexual abuse of children and adolescents.
State and municipal legislatures should repeal or reject any laws or bills that aim to ban education on human rights and sexuality. In addition, education departments should offer robust support to education professionals, ensuring that they feel confident and protected when teaching this essential content. Only in this way will Brazil be able to effectively combat the structural causes that fuel school violence and create an environment where students and educators can develop a critical and creative education, free from prejudice, discrimination and violence.
