Trans and travestis live without income and formal employment in Pará, host city of COP30
18 de May de 2025
By Fabyo Cruz – From Cenarium
BELÉM (PA) – In Pará, the trans, travesti*, and non-binary population lives on the margins of labour rights, relegated to informality, violence, and forced prostitution. This is the stark reality exposed by the study “Work, Employment and Income for Trans People in Pará”, conducted by the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) between 2022 and 2024. The survey, which interviewed 269 people in all regions of the State, was coordinated by the UFPA Institute of Legal Sciences, with support from the Public Labour Ministry (MPT) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The research reveals that over 60% of trans and travesti people live on up to one minimum wage per month. Unemployment is structural: nearly half of travestis (49.2%) have been out of the labour market for more than five years, and fewer than 10% have formal employment contracts. Informal work and prostitution — often as the only survival option — are the norm.
“This study shows a systematic exclusion upheld by transphobia, racism, and class inequality,” says UFPA lawyer and professor Davi Haydee Almeida Lopes, who was part of the research’s core team. “It is a portrait of the legal void in which we live. Without specific laws or effective enforcement of existing ones, violence and discrimination remain unpunished,” he states.
Forced prostitution
One of the most alarming findings in the report indicates that 61% of travestis and 58% of trans women have engaged in sex work as their sole source of income. The study refers to this as “forced prostitution” — not by choice, but due to the lack of alternatives, driven by rejection in the labour market and the hypersexualisation of trans bodies.
Violence is a constant element in the working lives of this population. Over 90% of trans people reported discrimination based on gender identity at work. Among travestis, 35% reported physical and verbal assaults, while 57% experienced verbal violence. The main aggressors? Clients and co-workers.
In addition, respect for gender identity is rare: only 43% of travestis have their pronouns respected at work. Among non-binary people, the figure is even more concerning — 23% state they are never addressed correctly.
Denied citizenship
Exclusion also affects access to basic citizenship rights. Only 17.9% of those interviewed had undergone any type of gender-affirming surgery. The civil name rectification process remains a huge barrier: 90% of non-binary people and 61% of travestis have not completed it.
Even among those who access healthcare services, specialised care is scarce. The study highlights severe difficulties in accessing psychological counselling, hormone therapy, and transition surgeries through the Unified Health System (SUS). Over 80% of respondents receive no form of social benefit.
Possible paths
Davi Haydee emphasises that measures such as quotas in higher education and tax incentives have the potential for immediate impact. “Quotas tackle the root of the problem: access to education. Tax incentives help those outside school to enter the job market,” he explains.
For him, the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office need to educate themselves on the multiple layers of discrimination faced by this population. “Violence begins in childhood and follows us through life. Acknowledging this is the first step towards guaranteeing rights. Ignorance can no longer be an excuse for denying citizenship,” he concludes.
The UFPA report presents proposals to reverse the exclusion scenario. These include:
- Quotas in universities and public institutions;
- Student aid for trans people;
- Tax incentives for companies that hire trans people;
- Creation of social and economic support centres;
- Public policy observatories focused on the trans population;
- Inclusion of gender identity in official databases;
- Ongoing campaigns to combat transphobia.
Transphobia
For Adiara Pereira, professor and president of the Associação Vozes da Diversidade, based in Santarém (PA), the main barrier faced by the trans population in Pará is institutionalised transphobia. She describes the exclusion as an undeclared but systematically practiced policy. “The worst barrier is transphobia disguised as an excuse: ‘no vacancies’. Often, the trans person is educated and qualified — as in my case, I’m a teacher with a diploma recognised by the Ministry of Education — but the opportunities simply don’t come. It’s a silent blockade,” she highlights.
Adiara reports that, even though she is an active leader and participates in hearings with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, she has never been invited to dialogue with the municipal executive of Santarém.
“During the campaign, the mayor invited all collectives. After the election, no one from the LGBT community was invited to the table. I’ve tried contacting the gay councillor in the city, but he’s never approached me. He’s on his second term. What kind of representation is that?” she asks.
She also criticises the use of religion by administrators as a justification for prejudice: “They say they’re not prejudiced, but they don’t create opportunities. A public official should act as one, not as a missionary. Public policy cannot be shaped by a cisgender mindset for the LGBT population. It’s necessary to listen and engage with the movements.”
Adiara advocates for the creation of listening and decision-making spaces occupied by trans people within public and private institutions. “We need to stop using commemorative dates as a smokescreen. The fight against LGBTphobia must be daily. Prejudice begins at home and spreads through school, the workplace, institutions. It will only change when we occupy these spaces with policies made by and for us,” she concludes.
*Travesti Identity
Travestis are people who embody a female gender construction, opposite to the sex designation assigned at birth, followed by a permanent physical transformation, which is recognised in social, familial, cultural, and interpersonal life through this identity. This definition is based on information from the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (Antra Brasil) and Portal Catarinas, which connects the feminist political agenda with fundamental and human rights in Brazil.
In Brazil and Latin America, the term travesti has been reclaimed by travestis themselves to transform its previously pejorative connotation into a positive one. Some travestis may also identify as trans women, while others prefer to affirm themselves solely as travestis for political and identity-related reasons. As the terms are interchangeable, many trans women may also identify as travestis. For all these reasons, recognising travesti identity is crucial, as it asserts itself in response to the historical stereotype and stigmatisation of the term.