A survey carried out by the city of Rio de Janeiro shows that 67% of trans people and transvestites from Rio de Janeiro have already suffered some type of violence because they are transsexuals. The survey was carried out with funding from the project “Partnership for Healthy Cities: Response to Covid-19”, led by the non-profit organization Bloomberg Philanthropies and the organization Vital Strategies, in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The capital of Rio de Janeiro was one of the 18 cities in the world selected to participate in the program.
The City of Rio interviewed 526 trans people and transvestites between July and October 2021. The survey included questions about the socioeconomic reality, schooling and access to the formal job market by this population.
According to the survey, 83% of the people interviewed suffered violence inside the school. Of these, 17% pointed to the teachers themselves as aggressors. This was the factor that made 29% of participants drop out of studies. Already at the time of entering the job market, 71% said they suffered prejudice during job interviews.
On socioeconomic status, one in three said they only eat one meal a day or less. In addition, 43% of the participants reported having stopped studying due to lack of money. The survey also showed that 60% of them have uncertain or insufficient income.
According to the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals, this situation is repeated throughout Brazil.
“The release of these data that show the absence of public policies for the trans population is very important because it reveals things that we always talk about in conversation circles, in universities, on the street and in various debates. It is very important that they come to light, because they consolidate demands for us to acquire public policies for our Carioca trans people”, says Wescla Vasconcelos, representative of the Association in Rio de Janeiro.
She also spoke about the difficulties that this population has on a daily basis. “Trans people are denied their rights, many are thrown out of their homes, they are unable to finish their studies. Education, health, justice, the right to change the name, things that should be basic, are denied because of discrimination,” she adds.
Choice of Rio for the program
Rio de Janeiro was one of the cities selected around the world to carry out the health promotion program for the trans and transvestite population. According to the Municipal Secretariat of Government and Public Integrity (Segovi), the municipality was chosen through a public notice launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies for the 70 cities that participate in the Partnership for Sustainable Cities.
The interviews were carried out within the scope of the Garupa project, launched by the city in July 2021 with the aim of reducing the impacts of Covid-19 and facilitating access to the health system for the trans and transvestite population.
“The trans population is the most invisible and in order to have public policies we need data. The Garupa Project was born from the need to reach especially the population in a situation of exclusion from their fundamental rights and to deconstruct the barrier of access to public power services”, explains the executive coordinator of Sexual Diversity at the City Hall of Rio, Carlos Tufvesson.
The project offered follow-up for vaccination against Covid-19 and guidance on municipal health services. In all, 723 trans and transvestites were served by the program in the first stage. The second is scheduled to be launched in the first half of this year.
The execution was carried out by the Municipal Secretary of Government and Public Integrity (Segovi), through the Executive Coordination of Sexual Diversity, in partnership with the Municipal Secretary of Health and the General Coordination of International Relations and Cooperation.
Source: CNN Brasil
