In Brazil, the use of homophobic slurs is now punishable by up to 5 years on prison.

The country’s Supreme Court ruled on August 21 to elevate homophobic hate speech to the level of racist hate speech, which is punishable by 2-5 years in prison. The decision was 9-1.

According to France 24, the court previously ruled to criminalize homophobia in 2019, but that reportedly only applied to slurs against the LGBTQIA+ community overall, rather than individuals. The new ruling expands legal protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals much further.

The lead judge in this case, Justice Edson Fachin, stated in his ruling that providing equal legal protection to LGBTQIA+ citizens was a “constitutional imperative.”