Brazil sees sharp uptick in violence against its LGBT community

• Nearly 1,600 LGBT people have been murdered in the last four-and-a-half years according to one advocacy group.
• Despite Brazil’s reputation for tolerance, a growing evangelical population steadily amassing political power has led a conservative backlash to the country’s progressive legal integration and protection of sexual and gender minorities.
• The homicide spike follows a general uptick in violence in Brazil, which has seen a 15% increase in homicides over the last year as the country has slid into recession.

Read more:
“Brazil Is Confronting an Epidemic of Anti-Gay Violence” (The New York Times)
“An LGBT Person Is Murdered Every 28 Hours In Brazil” (The Huffington Post)
“We Need to Talk About Anti-LGBT Violence in Brazil” (The Advocate)

(Image Credit: Lalo de Almeida/The New York Times)