Brazil remains in first place in the ranking of countries that kill the most transgender and transvestite people in the world, with 80 murders recorded in 2025. The data comes from the latest edition of the dossier made by the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra), released this Monday (26).
The result represents a decrease of approximately 34% compared to the previous year, which recorded 122 crimes of this type, but it does not remove the country from the top of the ranking , a position it has held for almost 18 years.
According to Bruna Benevides, president of Antra, the data is the result of an entire system that normalizes oppression against transgender people.
“These are not isolated deaths; they reveal a population exposed to extreme violence from a very young age, marked by social exclusion, racism, institutional abandonment, and continuous psychological suffering.”
Violence statistics
The data for the report were collected from daily monitoring of news, direct complaints made to trans organizations, and public records. For Benevides, this situation already demonstrates violence: if civil society does not do this work, the deaths simply do not exist for the State.
In 2025, Ceará and Minas Gerais were the states with the highest number of murders, with eight each. Overall, violence remains concentrated in the Northeast region, which recorded 38 murders, followed by the Southeast with 17, the Midwest with 12, the North with seven, and the South with six.
A survey conducted by Antra, which covered the period from 2017 to 2025, showed the state of São Paulo as the most lethal, registering 155 deaths. The study revealed that the majority of victims are transvestites and transgender women, predominantly young, with the highest incidence in the 18-35 age group, with Black and mixed-race people being the most affected.
The report also points out that, although murders have decreased, there has been an increase in the number of attempted homicides, which means that the 34% drop compared to 2024 does not actually translate into a reduction in violence.
In its analysis of the report, Antra states that this scenario is explained by a combination of factors such as underreporting, distrust in security and justice institutions, reduced media coverage, and the absence of specific public policies to combat transphobia – a crime of prejudice, discrimination, and hostility directed at transgender people.
Public policies
In addition to the diagnosis, the report presents several recommendations addressed to public authorities, the justice system, public security, and human rights institutions, seeking dialogue and concrete proposals to break with the logic of impunity and scarcity that marks the reality of transgender people in Brazil.
Bruna Benevides, also an author of the report, believes that the Antra report “embarrasses the State,” informs society, and prevents silence.
“It is necessary to recognize that policies to protect women need to be accessible and available to transgender women, for example. We need to think about making what already exists accessible and implementing what has not yet been properly achieved. There is a lot of production, including data, but there is a lack of action on the part of decision-makers,” she added. The ninth edition of the Dossier: Murders and Violence Against Brazilian Transvestites and Transsexuals will be presented at a ceremony in the auditorium of the Ministry of Human Rights, with official delivery to representatives of the federal government.
Violent deaths
The data released this Monday by Antra reinforces the scenario highlighted on the 18th by the Gay Group of Bahia (GGB), in the Observatory of Violent Deaths of LGBT+ in Brazil, updated annually.
The data, which includes not only the trans population but also gay , lesbian, and bisexual people, among others, shows that in 2025, 257 violent deaths were documented: 204 homicides, 20 suicides, 17 robberies resulting in death, and 16 cases of other causes, such as traffic accidents and drownings.
Compared to 2024, when 291 cases were documented, there was an 11.7% reduction. But this still means one death every 34 hours in Brazil.
Also according to GGB, Brazil remained last year the country with the highest number of homicides and suicides of LGBT+ people worldwide, followed by Mexico, with 40, and the United States, with 10.
Source: brasil247.com