São Paulo councilor Adrilles Jorge (União Brasil) donned a wig and applied lipstick in the city council chamber to criticize a Senate-approved bill including misogyny among prejudice crimes under the Racism Law. The bill passed on Tuesday (March 24) with 67 votes and heads to the Chamber of Deputies.
Brazil's Senate approved on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, a bill proposed by Senator Ana Paula Lobato (PSB-MA) and reported by Soraya Thronicke (Podemos-MS), incorporating misogyny — defined as 'conduct that exteriorizes hate or aversion toward women' — into prejudice crimes under the Racism Law (Law 7.716/1989). It passed with 67 favorable votes and now awaits review in the Chamber of Deputies, where it has sparked debate. The bill sets penalties of 2 to 5 years imprisonment and fines for misogynistic injury, plus punishments for discrimination against women, such as 1 to 3 years reclusion and fines, with enhancements for social media or public events. Soraya Thronicke stated in the plenary: 'Machismo sustains inequalities; misogyny motivates violence; feminism seeks equity'.In São Paulo's Municipal Chamber, councilor Adrilles Jorge (União Brasil) criticized the bill on Wednesday (25), addressing councilor Silvia Ferraro (PSOL) of the Feminist Bench. While donning the wig and applying lipstick, he said: 'Anyone is given the right to be a woman, including transsexuals. [...] the law does not define what a woman is'. Jorge called the provision a 'jabuti' and argued the text is imprecise, allowing men to declare themselves women to evade penalties.Silvia Ferraro countered: 'Amid an epidemic of feminicides, it is shameful that a councilor is concerned with defending misogynistic men and fighting a law aimed at protecting women'. Jorge's office did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.In the Chamber of Deputies, Bia Kicis (PL-DF) criticized the bill for fostering 'division and hatred between men and women', while Dandara Tonantzin (PT-MG) advocated for its approval to shift the 'culture of tolerance toward gender violence'. The original 1989 law has been amended in 1997, 2010, 2012, and 2023.
