Brazil is one of the countries with the highest rates of violence against the LGBTQ+ community. In June 2019, the #ÉCrimeSim campaign (#YesItsACrime), headed by AllOut in partnership with LGBTQ+ rights organizations and driven by Ben & Jerry’s, achieved a historic victory: the Supreme Court decision that discrimination against LGBTQ+ people should be framed as a crime in Brazil. Matched to racism crime, LGBTQ+phobia became a non bailable and imprescriptible crime, which can now be punished with one to three years in prison and, in some cases, a fine.
Even with the Supreme Court’s decision to criminalize LGBTQ+phobia in Brazil, little has changed. Most Brazilian states have not adapted to receive complaints of LGBTQ+phobia, and institutional violence against the LGBTQ+ community continues to occur in different ways – from the police approach to the complaint itself, and through different forms of humiliation or discrimination in police stations.
Challenge
The project’s great challenge is to highlight cases of institutional violence committed by the state against the LGBTQ+ community and mobilize people to pressure the government and Public Security Departments so that they enforce the police protocol in order to face LGBTQ+phobia violence in Brazil.
Approach
Created by Getúlio Vargas Foundation in partnership with the organizations ABGLT (Brazilian Association of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transvestites, Transsexuals and Intersex), ANTRA (Brazilian National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals) and RENOSP (Brazilian National Network of LGBTQ+ Public Safety Agents), the LGBTQ+ Protocol suggests basic guidelines for a correct police approach, as well as the procedure and recording of occurrences of LGBTQ+phobic crimes, always in a humane way.
A campaign was therefore needed to boost public perception concerning the fact that the 2019 anti-LGBTQ+phobia law, in practice, was not enforced besides the written law. Moreover, it was necessary to pressure state governors across the country to guide their security forces to act in accordance with the law and LGBTQ+ Protocol.
Theory of Change
By driving change in public opinion regarding the state’s neglect and the lack of public safety for the LGBTQ+ population, Purpose could pressure decision makers who could implement public safety policies.
Action
In partnership with ABGLT, AllOut, ANTRA and RENOSP, Purpose formed a coalition against LGBTQ+phobia and developed communication actions aimed at pressuring the government and showing civil society that there is a solution.
Goals
1. Immediate adoption of the LGBTQ+ Protocol to improve data collection and analysis measures related to LGBTQ+phobia crimes in Brazil;
2. Ending institutional violence to which victims, denouncers and suspects are all subject through adequate training of police officers and municipal guard agents.
The branding for this campaign was meant to be both bright and evocative, utilizing strong colors and captivating imagery, in order to catch the attention of our audiences.
Our campaign launch was sent to over 140,000 people, triggering emails communicating the campaign’s relevance to AllOut’s contact base.
Site
Purpose created a campaign website, containing an engaging narrative which enabled public participation. The platform brings three important elements: a form for collecting signatures, the adaptation of the LGBTQ+ Protocol to an accessible language, and the consolidation of civil society knowledge on the topic.
In order to bring the problem understanding closer and to humanize it, Purpose created a series of materials aimed at raising public awareness, through personal accounts of violence and by adopting an editorial line focused both on the problem and on the solution. The campaign was featured on AllOut and Ben & Jerry’s Instagram and Facebook profiles.
In addition to promoting the campaign on social media, Purpose focused on promoting it through media outlets and with help from influencers active on the topic.
In addition to partnering with Ben & Jerry’s and All Out, Purpose also collaborated with ABGLT, ANTRA and RENOSP to form a coalition dedicated to both combating the stigma around the LGBTQ+ community and developing communication actions to pressure the government to take action as well.
The campaign gained attention from several media outlets, such as Observatório G, helping to raise awareness on the issue of crimes against and stigma around the LGBTQ+ community.
In addition to the more than 22,000 signatures on the petition, and reaching almost 200,000 people, Purpose was also able to strengthen the coalition and the consolidate institutional violence as an agenda that needs to be tackled head on, especially in a country with one of the highest rates of violence against LGBTQ+ community.
for Equity & Evidence