Homosexuality
    ✔ Legal
    Gay Marriage
    ✔ Legal
    Censorship
    ✔ No censorship
    Changing Gender
    ✔ Legal, no restrictions
    Gender-Affirming Care
    ✔ Legal
    Non-Binary Gender Recognition
    ✔ Recognized
    Discrimination
    ✔ Illegal
    Employment Discrimination
    ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
    Housing Discrimination
    ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
    Adoption
    ✔ Legal
    Intersex Infant Surgery
    ✔ Full ban
    Military
    ✔ Legal
    Donating Blood
    ✔ Legal
    Conversion Therapy
    ✔ Banned
    Age of Consent
    ✔ Equal
💬 Join Equaldex's LGBTQ+ Discord to discuss LGBT rights and chat!

Public Opinion

São Paulo is lacking public opinion data.

Help expand our understanding of the public's view on LGBTQ+ issues in São Paulo by sharing a link to a survey from a reputable organization.

Suggest Public Opinion Data

Perception of LGBTQ+ People

Survey results from 7 LGBTQ+ Equaldex users who lived in or visited São Paulo.

Overall

Overall

Perceived Safety*

Feel safe being open
Absence of verbal harassment
Absence of threats and violence
*Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.

Equal Treatment

Treatment by peers
Treatment by family
Treatment at work
Treatment at school
Treatment by general public
Treatment by businesses
Treatment by law enforcement
Treatment by religious groups

Visibility & Representation

Inclusion in education
Representation in entertainment
Representation in news
Political support
Out public figures

Culture

Pride/events
Nightlife
Dating life
Interest groups and clubs

Services

Health and wellness
Gender-affirming care
Support and social services
Advocacy and legal

History

Homosexual activity in São Paulo

?

Homosexual activity in São Paulo is legal.

Current status
Since Dec 16, 1830
Legal under federal Brazil law
Shortly after Brazil gained independence from Portugal, in 1830, the Imperial Penal Code decriminalized sodomy.

Brazil's 1988 Constitution further strengthened affirmative protections by prohibiting any form of discrimination. Since then courts have since affirmed this additionally applies to sexual orientation.

Same-sex marriage in São Paulo

?

Same-sex marriage in São Paulo is legal.

Current status
Since May 16, 2013
Legal under federal Brazil law
Following a resolution by the National Council of Justice (CNJ), any same-sex union can be converted into a marriage. It was approved on May 14 and came into force on May 16. Brazil was the second South American country after Argentina, and the twelfth in the world to legalise gay marriage.
May 5, 2011–May 15, 2013
Civil unions (marriage rights) under federal Brazil law
Although the first formal legal recognition of a civil union took place in 2004 (See first source), the Supreme Court did not rule in favor of civil unions throughout the country until May 5, 2011.

Censorship of LGBT issues in São Paulo

?

Censorship of LGBT issues in São Paulo is no censorship.

Current status
Since Oct 5, 1988
No censorship under federal Brazil law
Laws enforcing any kind of censorship in Brazil are explicitly against the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, that severely punishes it. Every time a State Congress tries to introduce a bill like this on a state level, the Supreme Court intervenes on the case.
Report error  ·  Log
Until Oct 5, 1988
State-enforced under federal Brazil law
on March 31, 1964, a coup d'état took place that implemented a military dictatorship in Brazil, the military regime was rigid and conservative, and this led to persecution by the military against the LGBT community, the community was completely censored by the media and the regime, any type of content related to "homosexuality" and "transsexualism" was punished with any type of punishment
Report error  ·  Log

Right to change legal gender in São Paulo

?

Right to change legal gender in São Paulo is legal, no restrictions.

Current status
Since Mar 1, 2018
Legal, no restrictions under federal Brazil law
In March 2018, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that transgender people have the right to change name and sex on their birth certificate without the need of sexual reassignment surgery or doctor letters. The change can be made at a notary's office now.
Nov 1, 2003–Mar 1, 2018
Legal, but requires surgery under federal Brazil law
Until 2018, surgery was required to change your legal gender in Brazil.

Gender-affirming care in São Paulo

?

Gender-affirming care in São Paulo is legal.

Current status
Since 1996
Legal under federal Brazil law
In 1996, Brazil adopted the ICD-10 classification, which contains codes for diagnosing transsexualism in adulthood and childhood, which authorize the initiation of medical transition.

Since 2020, people above the age of 16 can have access to HRT through the Brazilian public healthcare system, with parental authorization being required for those who are under 18. Sex reassignment surgeries are also granted for trans people above 18 years old.
Sources:
ourworldindata.org/grapher/…

agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/ra…~:text=O%20Conselho%20Nacional%20de%20Medicina,a%20ser%20de%20um%20ano.
Report error  ·  Log

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in São Paulo

?

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in São Paulo is recognized.

Current status
Since Nov 1, 2021
Recognized
(ADI) 4.275

LGBT discrimination in São Paulo

?

LGBT discrimination in São Paulo is illegal.

Current status
Since Nov 5, 2001
Illegal
Report error  ·  Log

LGBT employment discrimination in São Paulo

?

LGBT employment discrimination in São Paulo is sexual orientation and gender identity.

Current status
Since Nov 5, 2001
Sexual orientation and gender identity
under São Paulo Law No. 10 948
Report error  ·  Log

LGBT housing discrimination in São Paulo

?

LGBT housing discrimination in São Paulo is sexual orientation and gender identity.

Current status
Since Jun 13, 2019
Sexual orientation and gender identity under federal Brazil law
When renting a property, the owner cannot refuse a tenant on the basis of ethnicity, religion, social status or sexual orientation or any social group someone belongs to. It is written in the Federal Constitution, discrimination is a crime.
Oct 5, 1988–Jun 12, 2019
No protections under federal Brazil law
Although the Brazilian constitution of 1988 prohibits any form of discrimination, it was not until 2019 that homosexuals and trans people were definitively recognized as one of these groups.
Report error  ·  Log

Same-sex adoption in São Paulo

?

Same-sex adoption in São Paulo is legal.

Current status
Since Jan 2015
Legal under federal Brazil law
Same sex couples adoptions are legal nationwide in Brazil since March 2015 by Supreme Federal Court recognition.
Report error  ·  Log

Intersex infant surgery in São Paulo

?

Intersex infant surgery in São Paulo is full ban.

Current status
Since Jul 6, 2023
Full ban under federal Brazil law
During the National Health Conference on July 6th, 2023, the Brazilian Congress approved legislation that banned unnecessary surgeries on intersex toddlers.
Report error  ·  Log

Serving openly in military in São Paulo

?

Serving openly in military in São Paulo is legal.

Current status
Since Jan 2013
Legal under federal Brazil law
After Supreme Federal Court recognition, LGBT people can serve openly in military in Brazil.

People who are legally male at the age of 18 are obligated to serve, including trans men who have transitioned or trans women who haven't changed their legal gender yet. The latter can be dispensed once the change is made.
Jan 1969–Jan 2013
Ambiguous under federal Brazil law
There has never been any specific law banning homosexuals from serving in the army. However, Article 235 of 1969 of the Military Penal Code, which prohibits the "practice of a libidinous act, homosexual or not", was often used to persecute gays in the military and try to expel them.

Blood donations by MSMs in São Paulo

?

Blood donations by MSMs in São Paulo is legal.

Current status
Since May 8, 2020
Legal under federal Brazil law
The Supreme Court has ruled that the blood donation ban is unconstitutional in May of 2020.
1993–May 8, 2020
Banned (1-year deferral) under federal Brazil law
Blood Donation was banned in Brazil until 2020.

Conversion therapy in São Paulo

?

Conversion therapy in São Paulo is banned.

Current status
Since Jan 2018
Banned under federal Brazil law
In January 2018, the Federal Psychology Council established norms of performance for psychologists in relation to transsexual and transvestite people, also banning any conversion therapy.
Sources:
web.archive.org/web/2018042…//site.cfp.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Resolu%C3%A7%C3%A3o-CFP-01-2018.pdf

site.cfp.org.br/wp-content/…
Report error  ·  Log
Dec 1, 2017–Jan 1, 2018
Sexual orientation only under federal Brazil law
The same judge changed his decision, keeping the “treatment” banned.
Report error  ·  Log
Sep 19, 2017–Dec 2017
Not banned under federal Brazil law
In September 2017, a federal judge in Brasília approved the use of conversion therapy by a psychologist to “cure” people of homosexuality, overruling the 1999 decision.
Report error  ·  Log
Mar 22, 1999–Sep 19, 2017
Sexual orientation only under federal Brazil law
On March 22, 1999, Brazil became the first country to ban gay conversion therapy. The Federal Council of Psychology enacted Resolution CFP No. 001/99, which explicitly states that "homosexuality does not constitute a disease, disorder, or perversion." This landmark decision prevents psychologists from engaging in practices intended to 'cure' or alter an individual's sexual orientation.

Equal age of consent in São Paulo

?

Equal age of consent in São Paulo is equal.

Current status
Since Dec 7, 1940
Equal under federal Brazil law
According with the Brazilian Penal Code of 1940, the age of consent about sexual intercourse between two or more people is the same for heterosexual and homosexual couples, 14 years old for the participants.