Healthcare access and structural harm affecting transgender people in Brazil through a queer criminology lens
1
Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT:
Transgender people in brazil experience profound health inequities that cannot be fully explained by individual risk factors alone. Drawing on queer criminology as articulated by Matthew Ball, this study conceptualizes barriers to healthcare as forms of structural harm produced by state institutions, social exclusion, and regulatory violence. This approach reframes health inequities as outcomes of systemic marginalization rather than personal vulnerability. This study analyzes secondary data from official public sources including DATASUS and reports from the ministry of health and the ministry of human rights between 2015 and 2023. Quantitative indicators include the distribution of transgender-specific outpatient services within the unified health system (SUS) and reported barriers to access. A qualitative policy analysis was conducted to examine how institutional practices align with mechanisms of structural harm described in queer criminology. Official data indicate that fewer than 10 specialized transgender healthcare reference units operate nationwide, predominantly located in major urban centers. Between 2015 and 2023 outpatient procedures related to the transgender process increased but remained geographically concentrated and insufficient relative to population needs. Government reports also document disproportionately high levels of violence and social exclusion affecting transgender individuals, factors that correlate with delayed care, discontinuity of treatment, and avoidance of health services. These findings reflect patterns of structural harm consistent with queer criminology, where institutional neglect and regulatory barriers function as indirect yet persistent forms of violence. Applying queer criminology to transgender health in brazil reveals how public health systems may inadvertently reproduce structural harm despite formal commitments to universality and equity. Addressing transgender health inequities requires not only service expansion but also institutional accountability and policy reform aimed at dismantling systemic exclusion. Without such changes health disparities are likely to persist.
Transgender people in brazil experience profound health inequities that cannot be fully explained by individual risk factors alone. Drawing on queer criminology as articulated by Matthew Ball, this study conceptualizes barriers to healthcare as forms of structural harm produced by state institutions, social exclusion, and regulatory violence. This approach reframes health inequities as outcomes of systemic marginalization rather than personal vulnerability. This study analyzes secondary data from official public sources including DATASUS and reports from the ministry of health and the ministry of human rights between 2015 and 2023. Quantitative indicators include the distribution of transgender-specific outpatient services within the unified health system (SUS) and reported barriers to access. A qualitative policy analysis was conducted to examine how institutional practices align with mechanisms of structural harm described in queer criminology. Official data indicate that fewer than 10 specialized transgender healthcare reference units operate nationwide, predominantly located in major urban centers. Between 2015 and 2023 outpatient procedures related to the transgender process increased but remained geographically concentrated and insufficient relative to population needs. Government reports also document disproportionately high levels of violence and social exclusion affecting transgender individuals, factors that correlate with delayed care, discontinuity of treatment, and avoidance of health services. These findings reflect patterns of structural harm consistent with queer criminology, where institutional neglect and regulatory barriers function as indirect yet persistent forms of violence. Applying queer criminology to transgender health in brazil reveals how public health systems may inadvertently reproduce structural harm despite formal commitments to universality and equity. Addressing transgender health inequities requires not only service expansion but also institutional accountability and policy reform aimed at dismantling systemic exclusion. Without such changes health disparities are likely to persist.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
