May 26, 2011
Brazilian Leader Suspends Anti-Homophobia Campaign
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Brazil's president Dilma Rousseff suspended an anti-homophobia campaign Wednesday that had been planned to begin at schools this year because she thought the videos and pamphlets weren't appropriate for children.
Presidential secretary Gilberto Carvalho met with legislators representing religious groups that have opposed the campaign and emerged to say that Rousseff decided to delay the program.
He did not provide details on what material in the videos and pamphlets was considered inappropriate by Rousseff. The materials were to be distributed to children of varying ages across Brazil.
"The government maintains its clear position against any type of homophobia," Carvalho said. "It's important that this material, to be productive and to reach its goals, be the result of extensive consultation with society, to not generate this type of controversy."
The civil rights group Grupo Gay da Bahia says 260 gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people were murdered in Brazil last year. That was up 113 percent from 2005.
Brazil's top court recently ruled that same-sex civil unions must be recognized.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
