Diverso UFMG

What is Diverso UFMG

Diverso UFMG is the Legal Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (Núcleo Jurídico de Diversidade Sexual e de Gênero) of the Law School of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Created in 2014, it is devoted to sexual and gender diversity rights, connecting research, teaching and outreach to confront the discrimination and violence experienced by women and LGBT+ people and to promote their institutional recognition and legal protection.

Diverso UFMG works along four fronts. Legal Education in Gender and Sexuality runs a long-standing study group (since 2014), free courses, congresses and academic events. The Observatory of Violence against LGBT+ People gathers, systematizes and disseminates data on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Longeviver LGBT+ studies the challenges of aging among LGBT+ people, and Employability LGBTI+ addresses discrimination in the world of work.

In a decade, Diverso UFMG has organized five Congresses on Sexual and Gender Diversity — the largest legal-academic event on the theme in Brazil, with around 500 participants and 20 national and international speakers per edition — and more than 40 other academic events. It has administered over 3,200 in-person questionnaires on LGBTphobic violence across eight Pride Parades of Belo Horizonte and conducted 189 life-history interviews, building one of the most solid databases on violence, discrimination and LGBT+ aging. It has published more than 20 freely downloadable books and offers two free online courses.

Diverso UFMG is directed by professors Marcelo Maciel Ramos and Pedro Augusto Gravatá Nicoli and connected to the "Gender, Sexuality and Law" research project of UFMG’s Postgraduate Program in Law (PPGD UFMG), where master’s and doctoral research is developed from feminist and queer perspectives. It has managed over R$ 1 million in funding, with partners including the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the City of Belo Horizonte and UFMG.

Diverso UFMG in numbers

Data — Observatory of Violence against LGBT+ People

From the historical series of the Belo Horizonte Pride Parade research (2016–2025).

Suffered violence for sexual orientation or gender identity

• 45.4% of cisgender LGB+ people
• 57.9% of non-binary people
• 65.6% of trans people

Acceptance by space

Share of respondents who felt accepted in each space.

Sense of safety

Average scores from 0 (not safe) to 10 (very safe).

Main demands by group

Key findings. LGBTphobic violence is massive and has not eased in a decade; it receded after the pandemic but rose again. There is a victimization gradient, with trans people facing more violence than non-binary and cisgender LGB+ people, intensifying with the severity of the assault. The State fails before and after a report: most victims do not call the police, and among those who do, fewer than half have their demand met.

A full report in English will be published by the end of 2026 (in Portuguese, by August 2026).

Data — Longeviver LGBT+ (aging)

Diagnosis of LGBT+ aging in Belo Horizonte (2021–2023), in partnership with the City.

• Violence runs through the whole life course. 68% of respondents (80.9% in the life-history interviews) have suffered violence or discrimination for being LGBT+; 45% already in old age.
• Ageism compounded with LGBTphobia. Among those who detailed the abuse: 38% prejudiced jokes, 22% being avoided or isolated, plus threats, physical violence and stalking.
• Loneliness marks aging. The most recurrent feeling, followed by fear — 76% reported experiencing them in old age.
• Coming out in old age. 52% are out to everyone and 45% to some groups; only 3% to no one.
• Fear of long-term care institutions. Care in old age raises apprehension — above all the fear of discrimination and of going "back into the closet".
• Low reach of public services. Only 10% used the municipal services aimed at the LGBT+ population.