Courts guarantee the permanence of trans soldiers and the right to use their social name

The Superior Military Court prohibited, this Wednesday (19), that trans soldiers be dismissed from the Army due to gender change, even when the vacancy was destined for a different biological sex.

In the decision, the case’s rapporteur, Minister Teodoro da Silva Santos, stated that dismissals due to gender transition constitute “direct discrimination, disguised under administrative guise”.

The First Section of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) also unanimously defined that these agents may use the social name.

The decision, taken as a matter of general repercussion, must be followed by all courts in similar cases.

The change occurred after the Federal Public Defender’s Office filed a lawsuit denouncing discriminatory practices against public servants and members of the Armed Forces motivated by transphobia.

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According to the action, agents were subject to successive medical licenses and compulsory retirement based on the categorization of “transsexualism”, an old definition abandoned by the World Health Organization in 2018.

For the rapporteur, the compulsory retirement of military personnel just because they are trans is illegal and contrary to international treaties. In his opinion, Minister Santos mentioned Advisory Opinion 24/2017 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which prohibits state acts that violate the dignity, privacy and equality of trans people.

“Once the soldier’s gender identity is officially recognized, their right to remain on active duty must be guaranteed, with compulsory transfer to inactivity based solely on gender incongruity being prohibited,” he highlighted.