Brazil has taken important steps toward equality and respect for diversity with the landmark decision of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in Writ of Injunction 7452.
In this ruling, the Supreme Federal Court consolidated the understanding that the protective measures provided for in Law No. 11,340/2006,
known as the Maria da Penha Law, traditionally applied in cases of domestic violence against cisgender women, should also be extended to trans women, transvestites, and, in some cases, same-sex couples.
The STF believes that while there is no specific law on the subject, the protection of the Maria da Penha Law applies to male same-sex couples and transvestite or transgender women in intra-family relationships. With this decision, judges and legal practitioners must be aware of the possibility of applying the emergency protective measures provided for in the Maria da Penha Law to gay men who are victims of domestic violence, when gender-based vulnerability or violence within the family is identified.
The decision represents significant progress, as it recognizes that domestic violence does not occur exclusively in heteronormative and cisgender relationships. It also highlights that the growing complexity of social relationships, new family formations, and the legal recognition of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations have necessitated a necessary reinterpretation of the law in light of the constitutional principles of human dignity, equality, and non-discrimination, as well as preventing victims from being left helpless by a restrictive and anachronistic interpretation of the law.
The Supreme Federal Court reaffirmed that human dignity and protection against violence must be universal, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Link to the Supreme Federal Court decision:
MI 7452 – https://portal.stf.jus.br/processos/detalhe.asp?incidente=6714998
Cássia Menezes Marques | cassia@nascimentomourao.adv.br
Partner in the Strategic Litigation practice and Assistant Compliance Officer.
Aline Rossi | aline@nascimentomourao.adv.br
Coordinating Partner in the Strategic Litigation practice, specializing in Civil Procedural Law and Contracts.
