Living Together: Brazil's Pioneering Recognition of LGTBs

The world consists of people with different beliefs, practices, and different sexual orientations. We should all learn to live with each other for the overall development of the human race. Brazil is one of the oldest and nations in the world that spearheaded the recognition of the Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, and Transgender community in their country. This move to recognize the group came with high commendation and hate from both the local Brazilian and the international communities (New York and Geneva, 2016). This essay is going to examine how the LGBT group has influenced by economics, politics, and religion, and humanitarian activities today in their everyday life activities.

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Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, and Transgender in Brazil

Brazil is referred to as a developing nation because it has a small Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and poor living standards of the majority of the people. Though it boasts of having the best economy in southern and Central America, it still has a lot of issues affecting its growth. Brazil has an approximate population of 209.5 million people, of which approximately 20 million people are of the LGBT group (Reid, 2011). This large number averages almost 10% of the entire community.

Economy

This large number is vital to the development of the country and its economy as it can offer services to help grow the Brazilian economy. Several theories have been brought forward over the years to try and prove it. The opinions are valid since if the total workforce of a country is underutilized, then the full potential of the entire nation cannot be achieved. LGBT inclusion in the labour market is seen as a move that will enable them to get proper skill and productivity if they are treated equally with the rest of the population.

In Brazil, the people of LGBT undergo legal landscape as well as social climate, contributing to Brazil along with discrimination against these people at school, in public life, in housing, and at their working place. Discrimination and Brazil are connected to adverse economic effects on businesses, economies, and government (Prado, 2018). For instance, Brazil, along with discrimination against the employee's LGBT affect industries by creating less productive personnel, as well as by making it hard for employers to the novice as well as train the most privileged employees.

Additionally, LGBT discrimination has caused economic instability of late as well as health disparities for people, who incline the net cost for social safety for the state, plus affect the economy by minimizing productivity as well as increasing the cost for health care. For example, concerning the increased net cost of social safety, the workplace, as well as housing discrimination in contrast to transgender, is approximated to spend 1,048,000 dollars in medical expenditure (Kollman & Waites, 2009).

In a homeless shelter, disbursement is estimated to spend 477,000 dollars every year. The reduction of disparity between LGBT as well as non-LGBT individuals in a significant depressive disorder rate is estimated to benefit the economy of Brazil by 110.6 million dollars to 147.3 million dollars every year (Vivanco, 2017). Disparity reduction in the smoking rate will benefit the economy of Brazil state by 28 million dollars. As a result, if Brazil can shift to a more supportive LGBT people's environment, the business, the economy as well as state government is likely to benefit.

Effects of Lack of Employment

With favourable and conducive working conditions, it is understood that a human being can work to the best of their ability and give out maximum output to their employers. Supporting the LGBT group in the country is a move that has not been supported in totality by the larger 'straight' population in the country. The LGBT community is discriminated against. Some are not given equal opportunities to work at the same level of their qualifications as others, and some are denied job opportunities in totality. This means that the workforce is underutilized, leading to lost labour time, lost productivity, and will lead to a lower GDP of the nation.

This lack of employment will increase the poverty rates and hence increase the burden on the government as a whole. Statistics and various analyses done over the years have shown that countries that have included the rights of the LGBT community in their society and have been accepted have shown significantly higher levels of economic development compared to those that have lower rights concerning the group. For example, countries like France and Germany have had economic growth since the adoption of LGBT rights (Carrara, 2012). The people are more accepted in society and can work better. The violence associated with the LGBT society has drastically reduced, allowing them to work freely and to utilize their potential fully. They are also protected more by their rights and the government at large.

Establishment of LGBT Rules in Brazil

In contrast, in Brazil, the LGBT community is not adequately protected even after the rules were established, and a vast majority still face stigma and violence directed against them. Some of them are qualified but cannot be accepted to work and offer their services. Some of them keep in hiding in fear of their safety and wellbeing (Parker, Barbosa & Aggleton, 2017). With this entire idea kept in mind, someone can't work in conditions that do not help in improving their working conditions. Some LGBT people in the society have voiced concerns that they have been receiving unfair treatment at workplaces, institutions of learning, an increase in violence against them, unfair treatment even in receiving healthcare treatment.

All these factors, when brought into consideration, will bring low productivity due to the low utilization of human capital as a force used to grow the Brazilian economy. For the full potential of an economy to be reached, the entire labour force should be used to attain maximum results, and anything other than this will always lead to lower results than anticipated by economists.

Politics

Politics is an action that is related to the governance of a region and is also associated with the power that each participant is entitled to. Politics plays an essential role in a country as it dictates other sectors of the country and the overall wellbeing of a nation. Brazil is no exception to the effect of politics on its daily activities (Latin America and the Caribbean, 2009). The country experienced a lot of political restructuring after the military coup in 1964.

Effects of Legislative Changes

In the 1970s, the legislative changes started taking shape, and finally, the military regime was overthrown some years later. In 1988, the constitutional amendment made it possible for everyone's right to be included and supported and respected regardless of their religious beliefs, race, gender, and sexual orientation (Parker, Petchesky & Sember, 2009). The changes also incorporated the LGBT group and their rights as fellow human beings to be included too. Before the constitutional amendments, the LGBT community received unfair treatment and persecution under the military regime due to their sexual orientation and preferences because they did not have a structure that recognized the rights of the LGBT.

Military Laws

Many of the gays and lesbians during the military regime went into hiding because of the strict military laws. Some of them did not live freely as nowadays displayed in the open public in the years 1969-1974. The revised constitution, The People's Constitution, as it was known in 1988, saw a new dawn for the LGBT community in Brazil that made them feel like a part of the country in 1974 (Roth, 2019). This has led to further changes such as in 2005; the Ministry of Education in Brazil came up with guidelines on training teachers on the issues relating to gender identity and sexual orientation.

This was to assist the teachers in understanding and treating the LGBT students equally with the other students. The Special Secretariat for Human Rights has supported the creation of many referral centres to prevent violence against LGBT people and discrimination towards them. The groups also are tasked with giving legal aid and offering psychological treatment to the victims. Bill of law number 122, passed in 2008, was made and passed to prevent prejudice on sexual orientation and gender identity punishable by law (Strobl, 2017). Even though Brazil has had a lot of changes in the political scene in regards to gender and sexual reforms, there has still been no significant changes in the country as a hate crime against the LGBT community still face persecution and acts against humanity.

LGBTQ Violence Report in Brazil

In 2017 alone, a report on LGBTQ violence in Brazil showed that there were 445 deaths in the last year alone due to sexual and gender violence, the most significant number witnessed in thirty-eight years. That figure constituted a 30% increase from the previous year. Many of the LGBT face threats against them, discrimination from society, some get publicly humiliated, and some get prosecuted and unfairly treated because they are of the LGBT minority group (Rogers, 2017). The changes championed for by the humanitarian groups may take a long time before they ever go through and take effect. The National Congress is the most conservative with only one gay member championing for the rights of the LGBT as of July 2018.

Evangelical Group and National Congress

In the National Congress, the evangelical group has gone ahead to fight for the removal of sexual and gender education in school. Similar proposals have also been brought up in different states in the country. The Family Statute has also been brought forth, which legally describes a family as a union that describes the family as a union between a man and a woman and their offspring. This will also bring further contention of a single parent household being described as not being a type of a family. The situation in Brazil got from bad to worse when even the members of Congress who championed the rights of the LGBT were also receiving death threats like Jean Wyllie's, and he had to leave the country after fearing for his life.

The cases against LGBT got worse when a councilwoman, Marielle Franco, was gunned down after her frequent championing of the LGBT rights in Brazil. This just showed that even the people in the highest level of government are not safe from oppression over their gender and sexual preferences in Brazil.

Religion

Religion is termed as a strong belief and worship of a higher being that is more powerful and is believed to be in control of everything their believers do. In Brazil, the largest religion by numbers is the Christian religion, notably the Catholics. There are also other types of other Christians, like the Protestant and the Pentecostal groups. There is also a significant number of Muslims in the country. In the teachings of the dominant religious groups present in the country, homosexuality is strictly not allowed to be practiced among their followers.

Homosexuality has been a bone of contention for so many years in Brazil. The religious organizations rigorously advocate for the expulsion of such members from their places of worship. Many of the LGBT people feel victimized under such circumstances and unwanted in the community. Some grew up in the faiths, and to be excluded from them due to their sexual and gender orientation is somehow a significant loss in their lives.

Spiritualist Religion and Those Who Lack Affiliation

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