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Brazil: Situation of bisexual men and recourse available if they are threatened or assaulted by police

The only reference to the situation of bisexuals found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate is included in a 1997 article published by the Chicago Tribune. The report states that

AIDS also has cast a shadow over the country's widespread tradition of bisexuality. More than half of Brazilian men, ATOBA estimates, have had sexual relations with other men at least once. But what once was viewed largely as harmless experimentation has become a health risk, particularly as married men carry home the threat of AIDS. ... Married women in their 30s are now one of the fastest-growing groups contracting AIDS in Brazil, according to ABIA. And bisexual men, driven into the closet, sometimes are participating in attacks against homosexuals in an effort to hide their own inclinations ... "Married bisexuals don't see themselves as gay. They'll harass gay guys, even guys they've had sex with, just so they aren't identified," said Raimundo Pereira, vice president of ATOBA. "A lot of the killers are people who have slept with their victims" (4 Apr. 1997)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Chicago Tribune. 4 April 1997. Laurie Goering. "Violence Against Gay Brazilians Comes Out in Open." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

A Folha de Sao Paulo. Searchable archives.

IRB databases.

Jornal do Brasil [Rio]. Searchable archives. May-Sept. 2000.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 1995-1999.

O Estado de Sao Paulo. Searchable archives. 1995-Sept. 2000.

O Globo [Rio de Janeiro]. Searchable archives.

Veja [Sao Paulo]. Searchable archives. 1997-Sept. 2000.

Internet Websites, including:

Amensty International.

Human Rights Watch.

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGHLRC).

Internet search engines.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. Country and subject-specific publications available at the Resource Centre are not included.

Topics: Bisexuals, Homosexuals,