Grupo Dignidade

I need to report something unusual that happened to me on Thursday night, the 21st, at 5:50 PM, when I was inside the BASE (Well-being, support, solidarity, employment), waiting to be served. Out of nowhere, a municipal guard nudged me and called me over to talk outside the public facility of the City Hall. He asked a question, immediately saying "YOU ARE HIV POSITIVE, RIGHT??" I was stunned by such a question, as if I were supposedly HIV+, discriminating against me and self-criminalizing me. I didn't feel any obligation to answer, and I asked if this was a police or public safety matter. He retorted, saying several times that he knew me from "Tiradentes," I asked which Tiradentes??? Then he took my ID, checked the system to see if I had problems with the police or justice system, and then apologized. This after exposing me in a public place in a completely humiliating state. I would like to know, from the Municipal Guard, if it is the function of the officers to interrogate, approach citizens and consult the system, simply because they suspect the person may be a carrier of this or another serological condition. (Municipal Guard officer named Rafael, a bald man)

Beautiful, welcoming atmosphere!

Subject: An Urgent Report for the LGBT Dignity Group: When Refuge Fails To the coordination, volunteers, and community of the LGBT Dignity Group, I write these words with a heavy heart and trembling hands, but with the clarity of someone who needs the truth to be told. I am a 27-year-old trans woman, a resident of Curitiba, and I sought out the Dignity Group in a moment of legitimate despair. What I experienced was not dignity. It was another layer of abandonment. Lately, I have faced constant harassment in my neighborhood, a real fear of leaving home, and psychological exhaustion that is the result of years of resistance. In the midst of this turmoil, I thought: "I'll call the Dignity Group. They will know how to guide me." When I dialed the number, I still believed that organizations with names like yours exist to be beacons, not closed doors. I was attended to in a rushed, cold, and minimizing manner. My narrative of fear and isolation was reduced to something that seemed like a bureaucratic inconvenience. I received no information about reporting channels, emergency psychological support, or any guidance that would take into account the seriousness of a trans person feeling trapped in their own home. In short: I was neglected. The irony is cruel: a group that carries the word "Dignity" in its identity failed to offer its most basic form: the validation of others' pain. For LGBTQIA+ people, especially trans people, the act of asking for help is already a landmark of courage—because we know that, often, we will be revictimized. When this revictimization comes from within the community itself, the blow is twofold. What was supposed to be a welcoming space turned, in my experience, into a hostile environment. And hostility is not measured only by hateful words; it is measured by the tone of disdain, the absence of active listening, and the silence in the face of a cry for help. I am not writing to attack individuals, but to warn about a flawed process that may be being repeated. This account is a public call for reflection: 1. What is the protocol for handling calls in crisis situations? 2. Do the volunteers or staff who answer the phone receive training in mental health, qualified listening, and guidance in cases of violence? 3. How does Grupo Dignidade intend to ensure that its mission to support the community is, in fact, an act of care, and not just another door that closes? My case is not unique. It is the tip of an iceberg of silent despair. How many other calls like mine were treated as "just another problem"? How many people stopped seeking help because, upon trying, they felt their suffering was insignificant? True dignity arises when an organization has the courage to look at its own mistakes and act to correct them. This account is an invitation to this self-criticism. So that Grupo Dignidade is not just a name, but a constant and safe practice for all who knock on its door. With the hope that dignity will one day be for everyone, A trans woman still waiting for a safe haven.

Terrible service, invasive forms, and for the third time I'm contacting them for help because I'm in an extreme situation. I called and was simply dismissed by the receptionist and the other supervisor I asked to speak to, not to mention the racial discrimination that occurs. What should have been a welcoming experience turned into something extremely hostile.

🙌🏻🌟🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

A pioneering organization in the state of Paraná in the fight for LGBTI+ human rights and citizenship.