Lack of official data hinders support for
LGBTQIAP+ population

Support and protection projects are the responsibility of civil society organizations. ELAS+ launches a call for proposals to strengthen groups of women and trans people committed to social transformation.

June is the month chosen to give visibility to the LGBTQIAP+ cause and international surveys are dedicated to quantifying, in statistical data, the lives of these people and the difficulties they encounter. In Brazil, however, there are still no official nationwide surveys with questions about sexual orientation and gender identity, for example. A decision by the Federal Court of Acre seeks to reverse this situation by ordering the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) to carry out this investigation in the 2022 Census questionnaire. IBGE, however, decided to appeal the decision.

The lack of definition by IBGE, which is one of the largest data sources in the country, demonstrates the problem in data collection. To give an idea, only this year the National Health Survey (PNS) released the result of the first survey that was carried out taking into account the sexual orientation of the people heard. According to the figures, 2.9 million Brazilians over the age of 18 declare themselves homosexual or bisexual - equivalent to 1.8% of the adult population. However, the survey does not include adolescents or investigate aspects of transsexuality. There is also no data on the violence suffered by these people.

The demonstration of LGBTphobia in numbers is the responsibility of civil society organizations. Independent research by the Brazilian Association of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals (ABGLT) revealed that 51% of people who identify as LGBTQIAP+ have already been victims of discrimination. The figures also show that 94% of aggressions are verbal and 13% result in physical violence.

K.K. Verdade, executive director of ELAS+, the first independent fund dedicated to women in Brazil, points out that when it comes to the LBTQIAP+ women's movement, the number of surveys is even lower and this prevents them from being contemplated in all their needs and diversities. "Not having a panorama in numbers about this reality is a way of keeping these people in invisibility. It is as if they do not exist and are not producing, when in fact they are working, and a lot, for transformation".

Support in society organizations

Without research or public policies to support them, LGBTQIAP+ people rely almost exclusively on social initiatives. Organizations that act creatively, with projects in several areas, such as advancing rights, employment and income, public safety and education.

To support the LGBTQIAP+ population, there are groups dedicated to offering professional training to combat the social stigmas faced by transgender people and transvestites; others provide digital security training to create support networks capable of offering rapid responses in the event of virtual attacks. There are also initiatives that offer community pre-university entrance exams for LGBTQIAP+ people, employability programs, promotion and dissemination of art, culture, and even sports.

To strengthen initiatives such as these, by women and trans people engaged in social change, ELAS+ launched in July Building Movements 2022: strengthening solidarity and trust. This is the sixth edition of the notice that has already supported 244 initiatives across the country, totaling more than R$ 11 million in donations.

This year, ELAS+ will allocate R$ 4 million through flexible resources, which can be used for institutional strengthening of organizations led by women or trans people. There is no theme or performance cut-off and the group does not even need to be formalized.

Details of the call for proposals Building Movements 2022 are available at:
https://fundosocialelas.org/mulheres-em-movimento/