STF postpones judgment on bathrooms and trans people

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) postponed the trial that will decide on the right of trans people to use female or male bathrooms. The discussion was initially scheduled for next Wednesday, the 29th, but was removed from the agenda, with no new date set for analysis.

The case in question involves a trans woman who was discriminated against in a shopping mall in Florianópolis in 2008. In the first instance, she obtained compensation of R$15,000 for moral damages, but the decision was reversed in the second instance, which classified the episode as “mere unpleasantness”.

The legal dispute reached the STF, where it began to be analyzed in 2015. The case gained general repercussion, and the vote of the rapporteur, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, was in favor of the woman, determining the reinstatement of the sentence with compensation. Barroso argued that trans people identify with the opposite gender and that the issue involves the notion of equality and the recognition of the rights of minorities. “It is these people’s right to be addressed by the name they choose”, explained the minister.

Bruna Benevides, president of the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra), expressed concern in a statement: “The wait for a new date and the uncertainty this represents for the trans community deeply concerns us.”

By Ezatamentchy