Trans woman wins seat at Human Rights Secretariat

“I don't feel included; I feel like an outcast, despite occupying a position such as mine.” These are the words of Symmy Larrat, the first transvestite to serve as Coordinator-General for the Promotion of Rights of the LGBT Community of the presidency's Human Rights Secretariat.

The 37-year-old woman from Pará, a state in north Brazil, is among the few trans people to overcome the obstacles posed by prejudice and manage to have an education and find a place in the labor market. She had to walk a long way before she graduated in journalism and was able to occupy her current position in Brasília. As most transgender men and women, Larrat had first to understand and accept herself before revealing her sexual identity to other people.

In an exclusive interview to Agência Brasil, Larrat talked about the reality and the struggle of trans people, who are still made to live a marginal life—most are forced to resort to prostitution, and end up falling victim to violence or facing an early death. Transsexuals and transvestites are individuals whose biological sex does not match their gender identity. She explains that transsexual men and women feel uncomfortable with their biological sex and wish to undergo surgery, unlike transvestites, who do not think their sex organs conflict with their identity. “My gender is female; I am a woman. My genitals do not make me a man,” she declares.

Larrat kept her female identity hidden throughout her years as a student at the Federal University of Pará. The first step she took was telling her mother. Coming out was a liberating experience, but, she says, she was forced to find work on the streets.

A prostitute with a degree

At the time, Larrat made several attempts to secure a place in the labor market, but closed doors were all she could find. “I had to work as a prostitute even though I held a diploma. All that was left for me were the two options usually given to trans women: I could either open a hair salon, which I never felt I was capable of doing, or hit the streets.” Larrat earned her livelihood at night, while also working in the morning as a volunteer at the LGBT Assistance Center in the state capital, Belém. Her job there was to field reports of homophobia, lesbophobia, and transphobia, and to facilitate contact between the victims the police.

Larrat says one of her main goals at the Human Rights Secretariat is to raise awareness at public institutions, especially schools and hospitals, about the needs of transgender men and women. She believes assisting trans people is the only way to enable them to become doctors, teachers, or to pursue any other occupation.

In her view, trans people are often given no assistance whatsoever, which may lead to their dropping out of school. “There's a huge number of trans people aged 14 or 15 on the streets taking drugs, prostituting themselves, experiencing all this ordeal,” she complains. According to data from the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra), 90% of trans Brazilians are involved in prostitution.

The priority at her department, Larrat says, is to ensure that Brazilian society treats trans people in an egalitarian way. “This approach is lacking among civil servants from every government agency. This can only change if [trans people] are brought to live together in society. That's one of the reasons why it's so important to have transvestites go to school, develop their social skills and learn to bond.” Larrat believes this strategy helps fight prejudice and change the way trans people are treated. “We're facing an urgent need to make schools a welcoming place. Today, when a female student says she doesn't want to use the same toilet as a transvestite, the school's at a loss as to how to deal with it; they don't know what to do and they fear the parents.”

Transsexuality

Another topic on the agenda for trans people—which could raise the life expectancy of transgender individuals, currently estimated at 30 years—is the access to the Gender Reassignment Process, a right guaranteed by the legislation governing Brazil's Unified Public Health Care System (SUS, in the Portuguese acronym). The treatment, however, is not yet available across the country. The Gender Reassignment Process is a series of procedures that help transvestites and transsexuals, comprising psychological therapy, hormone treatment, and the sex reassignment surgery. Larrat argues that any transvestite interested in the process should be able to go to a public hospital and start the treatment. The SUS is working to increase the number of municipalities covered, but has come across difficulties.

Larrat highlights the lack of doctors both trained and interested in hormone therapy, a key part of the process. She knows from personal experience that the appropriate care would discourage transvestites from taking hormones on their own, without the supervision of a doctor. “I had an overdose once and had to be hospitalized,” she recounts.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira