In Brazil, murders of trans people increased by 41% during 2020. 

The latest report published by the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (ANTRA), the Map of Murders of Transvestites and Transgender People in Brazil, shows that the Latin American giant tops the list of countries with the most murders of trans people, with almost three times the number of such crimes recorded in Mexico, which ranks second in the world, according to data from the Observatory of Murdered Trans People.

The report shows that 175 trans women were murdered last year and also reveals that 68% of these victims were of African descent.

For the first time, the report did not record any cases of murders of trans men. ANTRA's Political Articulation Secretary, Bruna Benavides, one of the authors, says that violence against trans community is closely linked to the lack of basic rights, such as education and healthcare, as well as family exclusion and the complete absence of public policies. 

The different forms of violence and the structural neglect of the State that made it impossible for trans women to realize social isolation during the proliferation of the coronavirus, leaving them more exposed to contamination and violence during the biggest health crisis in history.

"There are several murders: the symbolic, when neither the identity nor the social name of trans people is respected, when they are not hired or do not transit in social environments, and finally, the murder to annihilate existence," Benavides pointed out, recalling that hate speeches do not kill, but they do direct violence towards a particular collective. 

Although the transgender population lives in a vulnerable situation, during the pandemic they were forced to remain on the streets and prostitute themselves.

They were much more exposed to the virus and to violence, since there was less police surveillance. ANTRA identified that 72% of the murders were of transgender prostitutes. According to the organization, 90% of this population is in prostitution, while only 6% is in the formal market and 4% in the informal sector.