Trans students to take National High-School Exam triple
The number of transsexuals and transvestites to take the National High-School Exam, known as ENEM, this year nearly tripled compared to last year. 
The number of transsexuals and transvestites to take the National High-School Exam, known as ENEM, nearly tripled this year compared with last year. In 2015, 278 trans students used their chosen names to sign up, according to the National Institute for Educational Studies and Surveys (Inep). In 2014, such cases totaled 102.
Trans students have been allowed to use their preferred names since last year, but requests had to be made by phone. This year, requests were made online. On exam days, these students will be called by their chosen names, not the names on their identity card. They will also be permitted to use the restroom according to their gender identity.
Vice-President of the Brazilian Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites, and Transsexuals (ABGLT) Keila Simpson says knowing their preferred names will be used makes them comfortable to sign up for and take the ENEM.
TV producer Bárbara Aires, 25, is a case in point. “Your chosen name is your identity, and when there's no guarantee [that the chosen name will be used], people feel as if they were in a hostile environment. Calling people by their chosen names is a way to respect these people, who are entitled to that,” she says. Bárbara wants to take the exam to go to college. “I want to use the ENEM to change my reality.”
The ENEM aims to evaluate students' performance in their last year of high school or after high school is finished. Their score is used by some 500 universities across the country as a criterion for admission—adding to or superseding universities' traditional entry exams. This year, over 7.7 million students have confirmed their registration. The tests are slated for October 24 and 25.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Trans students to take national high-school exam triple
