Brazil revisits charges for student’s views on sex identity

A veterinary student could be prosecuted a second time for an allegation of so-called transphobia, despite all charges in her case previously being dismissed. The Alliance Defending Freedom International, a legal organization representing the student, said Wednesday that federal prosecutors filed an appeal to reopen the case. Isadora Borges previously faced up to 10 years in prison for writing two social media posts expressing that a person can’t be a sex different from how they were born. In 2025, prosecutors charged her with two counts of transphobia for those posts. But in March 2026, a regional court unanimously dismissed all charges, finding that her comment did not contain hostility or incite violence towards transgender individuals.

Borges could be on trial again for the same charges if the prosecutors’ appeal is successful, according to ADF. While Borges said it was terrifying to know she could face time in prison, she said it was more important for her to be able to speak the truth. She has the right to speak freely about biological facts, she said in a statement.

What exactly did her posts say? One post said that transgender women were obviously born male. The other stated that a person who identifies as transgender still has the biological DNA of the gender they were born as.

The court rightfully found that Borges did nothing illegal by writing these posts, said Julio Pohl, an ADF attorney. Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal in 2019 deemed transphobia a crime. The country has repeatedly accused individuals who have made similar remarks of so-called transphobia, he said. But Borges’ recent court win set a vital legal precedent for free speech, Pohl said. He urged the court not to backpedal from the earlier.

Dig deeper: Listen to Emma Freire’s report for The World and Everything in It to learn about Brazil’s hostile environment for homeschooling.