Framing Gender Violence, Producing Change: Transgender Activism and Measurement Efforts in Brazil

• In Event: 40820 - Section on Sociology of Sex and Gender Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 17: Gender and Violence

Abstract

Why does gender-based violence against transgender people persist amid progressive frameworks? How do state and civil society address this ongoing violence? Transgender people worldwide face several forms of violence, from symbolic to lethal. Some countries have implemented laws and human rights frameworks to address this issue. Brazil is a case in point. With an active LGBTQ+ movement, the country has taken protective actions to promote acceptance and criminalize homophobia and transphobia. However, Brazil has had the highest number of murders of transgender people worldwide for years, particularly among Black and poor trans women. I examine this puzzle by drawing on theories of violence, social movements, legibility, and the state. Research shows that “legibility projects” shape how state actors depict and intervene in society, with measurement being a crucial tool for information gathering and statecraft. In Brazil, because official statistics do not include levels of victimization of trans people, transgender organizations have developed their own measurements to document such violence. Yet we know little about this data collection and framing. My ongoing qualitative research explores these groups' strategies to measure violence, frame it discursively, and elevate their demands within political and legal spheres. Through archival research, in-depth interviews, and participant observation, I examine transgender organizations’ grassroots measurement efforts and their interactions with state actors. Preliminary findings indicate that (1) this marginalized group has transformed knowledge production about their experiences, leading to promising outcomes; (2) data produced by these organizations have influenced legal changes, such as the Supreme Federal Court’s decision to criminalize homophobia and transphobia; and (3) LGBTQ+ activists frame present-day violence as a continuation of colonial-era impositions of European gender norms and control over non-White populations, with this intersectional perspective playing an essential role in mobilizing action. These pre-findings underscore the importance of recognizing trans people as legitimate knowledge producers.

Author

• Natalia Heringer Mendonca, University of North Texas