Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Brazil rank among the highest in the world. Same-sex couples in Brazil have enjoyed the same rights guaranteed to heterosexual ones since May 16, 2013, including marriage and adoption. On June 13, 2019, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a crime akin to racism.
On May 5, 2011, the Supreme Federal Court voted in favor of granting same-sex couples the same 112 legal rights as couples in stable union. The decision was approved by a 10–0 vote with one abstention – one justice abstained because he had spoken publicly in favor of same-sex unions when he was attorney general. The ruling gave same-sex couples in stable unions the same financial and social rights enjoyed by those in opposite-sex relationships. On October 25, the Superior Court of Justice ruled that two women can legally marry. Differently from the U.S. Supreme Court's "stare decisis", the Superior Court decision would only reach the authors of the demand, but stood as a precedent that could be followed in similar cases. It was the highest court in Brazil to uphold a same-sex marriage. This overturned two lower courts' rulings against the women. The Court ruled that the Brazilian Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry and that the current Civil Code does not prohibit the marriage of two people of the same sex.
In 2019, the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court ruled that discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity constitute a crime equivalent to racism under the Law 7.716/1989, making homophobia and transphobia punishable by imprisonment and fines.
These decisions paved the way for future legalization on same-sex matrimonial rights. Consequently, on May 14, 2013, the National Council of Justice legalized same-sex marriage in the entire country in a 14–1 vote by issuing a ruling that orders all civil registers of the country to license and perform same-sex marriages and convert any existing stable unions into marriages if the couples so desire. Joaquim Barbosa, then president of the Council of Justice and the Supreme Federal Court, said in the decision that notaries cannot continue to refuse to "licensing and performance of a civil marriage or the conversion of a stable union into a marriage between two people of the same sex". The ruling was published on May 15 and took effect on May 16, 2013.
The status of LGBTQ rights in Brazil has expanded since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985, and the creation of the new Constitution of Brazil of 1988.
Timeline of LGBTQ history in Brazil
1830: Dom Pedro I signed into law the Imperial Penal Code. It eliminated all references to sodomy.Beyond Carnival . Green, James. The University of Chicago Press. 1999. 1971: Dr. Roberto Farina performs the first male-to-female gender affirming surgery in Brazil. He would be subsequently tried and acquitted for the treatment. 1979: O Lampião da Esquina, a gay magazine, with contributions by many famous authors, like João Silvério Trevisan, Aguinaldo Silva and Luiz Mott, was launched. It survived for just a year. 1980: Grupo Gay da Bahia, the oldest gay rights organization in Brazil, was founded in the city of Salvador, together with SOMOS, another organization in the city of São Paulo. 1983: Uprising at Ferro's Bar when its lesbian clientele was denied entrance. This led to the 19th of August being recognised as National Day of Lesbian Pride. 1989: The constitutions of Mato Grosso and Sergipe states are signed into law. They explicitly forbid discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation. 1995: Congresswoman Marta Suplicy proposed Bill project No. 1151 concerning civil unions. 1995: Brazil's first pride parade on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro 1997: G Magazine, the first gay-oriented erotic magazine, was published enjoying large and national distribution until its final issue in 2013. 2004: Rio Grande do Sul began allowing same-sex partners to register stable unions in a generic civil law notary after a court decision in March 2004.Notary of Rio Grande do Sul accept registration of same-sex civil union . Terra. March 4, 2004. 2006: A lesbian couple from Rio Grande do Sul was the first to successfully adopt.Justiça autoriza casal gay a adotar criança no interior de SP . Folha de S. Paulo. November 28, 2006. October, 2006: Fashion designer and television presenter Clodovil Hernandes became the first openly gay person to be elected as a congressman in Brazil, with 494,000 votes. June 10, 2007: In its eleventh edition, the São Paulo Gay Pride Parade broke its own record as the biggest parade in the world and attracted 3.5 million people.São Paulo Gay Pride Parade . Folha de S. Paulo. June 10, 2007. June 25, 2007: The Richarlyson affair occurred in which a judge was brought before the Justice Council of São Paulo for stating in court that soccer is a "virile, masculine sport and not a homosexual one." However, afterwards, the same judge apologized and decided to annul the decision he wrote. 2008: A national LGBTQ conference was held. The event, the first in the world to be organized by a government, was a result of demands made by civil society and the Brazilian Government's support of LGBTQ rights. 2010: Presidential Decree Nº 7.388 of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Human Rights Secretary Paulo Vannuchi establishes the National Council for Combating Discrimination and Promoting the Rights of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals (CNCD/LGBT). 2011: On May 5, the Supreme Federal Court unanimously extended stable unions (Portuguese: união estável) to same-sex couples nationwide by redefining the laic definition of the family and providing 112 rights to these couples. This decision paved the way for future legalization on same-sex matrimonial rights. 2011: On June 27, the first same-sex stable union was converted into a same-sex marriage in Brazil. The conversion was ordered by a São Paulo judge. Since this case, many other stable unions have been converted into full marriages.Jessica Geen, Brazil judge approves gay marriage , Pink News, June 28, 2011 2011: On October 25, the Superior Court of Justice ruled that two women can legally marry. Differently from the U.S. Supreme Court's "stare decisis", the Superior Court decision would only reach the authors of the demand, but stood as a precedent that could be followed in similar cases. It's the highest court in Brazil to uphold a same-sex marriage. It overturned two lower courts' rulings against the women. The Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry and that the current Civil Code does not prohibit the marriage of two people of the same sex. This decision paved the way for future legalization on same-sex matrimonial rights. 2013: On May 14, the Justice's National Council of Brazil legalized same-sex marriage in the entire country in a 14–1 vote by issuing a ruling that orders all civil registers of the country to license and perform same-sex marriages and convert any existing stable unions into marriages if such a couple desires. 2015: In March 2015, Supreme Court Justice Cármen Lúcia ruled that same-sex couples can adopt children. 2018: On March 1, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that transgender people may change their legal gender without undergoing surgery, hormonal therapy or receiving a medical diagnosis. 2018: In October, following the 2018 Brazilian general election, Fabiano Contarato was elected as the country's first openly gay senator and Érica Malunguinho as the first trans woman state representative. 2019: On February 1, David Miranda, a black gay representative, replaced Jean Wyllys, as Wyllys announced in January 2019 that he had left the country due to death threats. This was the first time that a gay representative was replaced by another gay representative in Brazil. 2019: On June 13, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a crime akin to racism. 2020: Supreme Court permits MSM to donate blood with no deferral period. 2021: A rule of the National Council of Justice allows to register intersex children with the ignored sex on birth certificates. 2022: In October, following the 2022 Brazilian general election, Duda Salabert and Erika Hilton were elected as the country's first transgender women federal representatives. Robeyoncé Lima also received more than 80.000 votes and was almost elected the country's first black transgender woman federal representative in the state of Pernambuco. 2023: The CNCD/LGBT is re-established by Lula as a 38-member body under the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship. Symmy Larrat is appointed as the first National Secretary for the Promotion and Defense of the Rights of LGBTQIA+ People under the Ministry. 2024: The Supreme Federal Court ruled that public and private schools must fight discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and sexist bullying (against cisgender and transgender girls) and homotransphobic (against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people). 2025: The Superior Court of Justice decided that it is possible to rectify the civil registry to include the neutral gender. The Superior Court's decision only affects the plaintiff, but serves as a precedent that can be followed in similar cases.
Recognition of same-sex relationships
On October 25, 2011, the Superior Court of Justice ruled that two women can legally marry. Differently from the U.S. Supreme Court's "stare decisis", the Superior Court decision would only reach the authors of the demand, but stood as a precedent that could be followed in similar cases. It's the highest court in Brazil to uphold a same-sex marriage. It overturned two lower courts' rulings against the women. The Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry and that the current Civil Code does not prohibit the marriage of two people of the same sex. This decision paved the way for future legalization on same-sex matrimonial rights.
Consequently, on May 14, 2013, the Justice's National Council of Brazil legalized same-sex marriage ( , also commonly , ) in the entire country in a 14–1 vote by issuing a ruling that orders all civil registers of the country to license and perform same-sex marriages and convert any existing stable unions into marriages if such a couple desires. Joaquim Barbosa, president of the Council of Justice and the highest court of constitutional law in Brazil - the Supreme Federal Court - said in the decision that notaries cannot continue to refuse to "licensing and performance of a civil marriage or the conversion of a stable union into a marriage between two people of the same sex".
On December 16, 2003, Brazil announced that it would recognize legal same-sex unions that were performed abroad. It was the first legal action to the recognition of same-sex couples.– CNN Politics: Binational same-sex union in Brazil , Mallory Simon
According to the Grupo Gay da Bahia (Gay Group of Bahia; GGB), the Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social (National Institute of Social Security; INSS) recognizes stable unions as a means for sharing inheritance, receiving a pension, and other rights similar to marriage.