A woman in Santa Catarina, Brazil, was arrested on suspicion of criminal “transphobia” this week after being reported to police by a transgender colleague for “offensive” comments.
According to reports from local news outlets, Military Police officers were called to a clothing-manufacturing factory in the Indaial neighborhood on November 2 over a dispute involving two employees. The alleged victim, a 28-year-old male who identifies as a woman, told police that a 48-year-old female worker had made derogatory remarks about his gender identity. The woman was subsequently arrested.
The confrontation reportedly stemmed from a workplace incident involving the woman’s elderly mother, who is also employed at the factory. The trans-identified male, who works as a supervisor, had allegedly reported the mother to the foreman over suspicions that she had engaged in “offensive gossip,” prompting her to be questioned. The meeting reportedly left the elderly woman visibly distressed. After finding her mother in tears, the female worker approached the transgender supervisor to discuss the incident.
The exchange quickly escalated, prompting the man to call the police and allege that the female worker had offended him.
🚔⛓️ PM prende operária a pedido de capataz sob a desculpa de ‘transfobia’ Uma operária de 48 anos foi presa pela Polícia Militar, na segunda-feira (2), em Indaial, Santa Catarina, após reagir ao tratamento dispensado à sua mãe por uma superiora dentro de uma confecção. A trabalhadora acabou conduzida à delegacia sob a acusação de transfobia, apresentada por uma líder de equipe transexual de 28 anos. O episódio foi divulgado nesta terça-feira (3) pelo Jornal Razão. A prisão ocorreu depois que a chefe de equipe convocou a mãe da operária, também funcionária da confecção, para uma reunião sobre supostas fofocas. A mulher negou as acusações e saiu da conversa passando mal e chorando. Ao encontrar a mãe naquele estado, a filha procurou a superiora para tirar satisfações. A discussão terminou com a intervenção da Polícia Militar. Trata-se de uma clara perseguição política contra uma trabalhadora pobre. A mãe foi humilhada pela superiora dentro da empresa, a filha reagiu e acabou presa. A acusação de “transfobia” foi apenas a desculpa para chamar a PM e punir as duas operárias. […] ✍️ Leia mais no site da Causa Operária
— DCO – Diário Causa Operária (@DiarioDCO) November 4, 2026
When police arrived, the worker told them that she believed her mother was being professionally harassed by the man, and that she had become upset because she believed he had caused her mother considerable distress. She denied intending to offend him and maintained that she had merely referred to the fact that he was transgender at one point during the conversation.
The man, however, claimed she had called him a “man in a dress,” and questioned his use of the women’s restrooms at the factory. Notably, according to Jornal Razão, the supervisor has not changed his name or sex marker, meaning he is still legally male.
Local reporting indicates that employees who were present refused to provide statements, while the company’s security cameras apparently could not provide footage because the necessary memory cards were not installed. But despite having no way to substantiate what the man had said, Military Police opted to arrest the 48-year-old female worker, taking her to the Civil Police station in Blumenau.
The incident was provisionally classified as a “suspected offense of transphobia” under Law No. 7,716 of 1989, commonly known as Brazil’s Racism Law. Originally enacted to criminalize discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity and national origin, the law was expanded by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court in a landmark 2019 ruling. The Court broadened its interpretation to homophobic and transphobic discrimination, treating such conduct as a form of what is now referred to as “social racism.”
It is unknown if the female factory worker is still in police custody.
News of the arrest has prompted backlash amongst advocates for both workers’ and women’s rights in Brazil.
Diário Causa Operária, an independent communist newspaper associated with the Partido da Causa Operária (PCO), called it a “clear case of political persecution against a poor worker,” adding that “the mother was humiliated by the supervisor inside the company, the daughter reacted, and ended up arrested. The ‘transphobia’ accusation was just the excuse to call the police and punish both workers.”
The Brazilian branch of Women’s Declaration International similarly condemned the arrest. In an X post, the organization wrote: “The women most harmed by having direct contact with men who lie about their own sex are those who have the least knowledge about the subject, and the least chance of defending themselves.”
Uma mulher de 48 anos foi presa porque um homem ficou ofendido ao ser reconhecido como homem. As mulheres mais prejudicadas por ter contato direto com homens que mentem o próprio sexo são as que têm menos conhecimento a respeito do assunto, e menos chance de se defender. https://t.co/iiQW6dPZmx
— WDI Brasil (@WDIBrasil) November 4, 2026
The case of the factory worker is far from isolated, and there have been multiple incidents of people being arrested and prosecuted over “transphobic” speech in Brazil.
Last month, Reduxx reported that federal prosecutors in Brazil were aggressively seeking to put a veterinary student back on trial for “transphobic” social media posts despite a unanimous court ruling earlier this year stating that she had committed no crime. Isadora Borges faced up to ten years in prison before the prosecution was halted in March, but prosecutors are still pushing for her criminalization.
In another case from August, a veteran University worker at the Federal University of Paraíba was sentenced to 1 year in prison for “misgendering” a trans-identified male student. Luís Adripaulo Mendes Barros was charged with “social racism” after a trans-identified male student reported him to police for “transphobia” after he was asked to leave a women’s restroom.
Reduxx is your source of pro-woman, pro-child safeguarding news and commentary. We’re 100% independent! Support our mission by making a donation.
