Brazil will respond as a defendant at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for refusing gender affirmation surgery to a trans woman from Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo.
Between 1997 and 2001, hairdresser Luiza Melinho tried, unsuccessfully, to carry out the sexual reassignment procedure at the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of Campinas, linked to the Unified Health System (SUS). When seeking medical assistance at the health unit, she was diagnosed with depression and ‘sexual identity disorder’. The suffering also motivated a suicide attempt. After one year of follow-up, in 1998, she underwent an initial intervention, with the expectation of completing the procedures. However, even after going through the sexual adjustment program in 2001, the surgery was canceled at the last minute, which worsened the hairdresser’s state of depression.
“I was being treated in all specialties, endocrine, psychiatry, gynecology, psychology, ENT. Then there was this denial, which for me was devastating. I saw the world falling apart”Luiza recounted.
Between 2002 and 2008, with the help of lawyer Thiago Cremasco, the case ended up in court, but treatment was denied at least three times. Faced with the impossibility of adequate care, Luiza took out a loan and paid for the surgery herself, in 2005.
Eduardo Baker, lawyer and international justice coordinator at the Global Justice Organization, an entity that also began defending Luiza Melinho, explains that Brazil is a signatory to several international human rights treaties with obligations that include the right to health.
“Specifically in relation to trans people, this right to health also includes gender affirmation surgery, any procedures involved. This entire transition process will be covered by the right to health”, explains the lawyer.
The Luiza Melinho case began to be processed in the Inter-American Human Rights System in 2009. In a recent decision, the Inter-American Commission concluded that the Brazilian State did not guarantee Melinho access to healthcare by imposing obstacles to accessing the requested surgery. The Justiça Global lawyer explains the possible sanctions on Brazil in case of conviction.
“We hope that this reparation will also include a reformulation of health policy in relation to trans people so that this surgery, not only surgery, but the entire complex of medical procedures, is covered in a quick, predictable and transparent manner. That this protocol is accessible to everyone, that a person who enters this queue is aware of when they will be able to undergo a certain procedure”, defended Baker.
For Luiza Melinho, after more than two decades since the beginning of attempts to reaffirm gender by the SUS, it is still difficult to deal with the exposure of her story, the first related to the rights of trans people against Brazil in an international court.
In a statement, the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship recognizes that Luiza’s surgery was the only way to ensure her right to life and physical integrity. The ministry stated that it will comply with the guidelines of the Inter-American Human Rights System.
Brazil will respond as a defendant at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for refusing gender affirmation surgery to a trans woman from Campinas, in the interior of São Paulo.
Between 1997 and 2001, hairdresser Luiza Melinho tried, unsuccessfully, to carry out the sexual reassignment procedure at the Hospital das Clínicas of the University of Campinas, linked to the Unified Health System (SUS). When seeking medical assistance at the health unit, she was diagnosed with depression and ‘sexual identity disorder’. The suffering also motivated a suicide attempt. After one year of follow-up, in 1998, she underwent an initial intervention, with the expectation of completing the procedures. However, even after going through the sexual adjustment program in 2001, the surgery was canceled at the last minute, which worsened the hairdresser’s state of depression.
“I was being treated in all specialties, endocrine, psychiatry, gynecology, psychology, ENT. Then there was this denial, which for me was devastating. I saw the world falling apart”Luiza recounted.
Between 2002 and 2008, with the help of lawyer Thiago Cremasco, the case ended up in court, but treatment was denied at least three times. Faced with the impossibility of adequate care, Luiza took out a loan and paid for the surgery herself, in 2005.
Eduardo Baker, lawyer and international justice coordinator at the Global Justice Organization, an entity that also began defending Luiza Melinho, explains that Brazil is a signatory to several international human rights treaties with obligations that include the right to health.
“Specifically in relation to trans people, this right to health also includes gender affirmation surgery, any procedures involved. This entire transition process will be covered by the right to health”, explains the lawyer.
The Luiza Melinho case began to be processed in the Inter-American Human Rights System in 2009. In a recent decision, the Inter-American Commission concluded that the Brazilian State did not guarantee Melinho access to healthcare by imposing obstacles to accessing the requested surgery. The Justiça Global lawyer explains the possible sanctions on Brazil in case of conviction.
“We hope that this reparation will also include a reformulation of health policy in relation to trans people so that this surgery, not only surgery, but the entire complex of medical procedures, is covered in a quick, predictable and transparent manner. That this protocol is accessible to everyone, that a person who enters this queue is aware of when they will be able to undergo a certain procedure”, defended Baker.
For Luiza Melinho, after more than two decades since the beginning of attempts to reaffirm gender by the SUS, it is still difficult to deal with the exposure of her story, the first related to the rights of trans people against Brazil in an international court.
In a statement, the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship recognizes that Luiza’s surgery was the only way to ensure her right to life and physical integrity. The ministry stated that it will comply with the guidelines of the Inter-American Human Rights System.
