Scientific evidence worldwide highlights the widespread violence experienced by
Queer people across various dimensions of their existence. These challenges are intensified in regions with extreme social inequalities, such as Brazil, where living conditions for Queer people are often significantly more precarious. Furthermore, research indicates a high prevalence of psychological and psychosocial trauma among Queer populations.

In response to these adversities, many Queer people engage in social movements
aimed at combating violence and advocating for social justice. Queer activism involves persistent advocacy and resistance against systemic discrimination and violence rooted in gender and sexuality. Queer activists are often at the forefront of addressing homophobic and transphobic social conflicts, advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights while simultaneously enduring discrimination and violence directed at their identities. Consequently, Queer activists frequently face severe instances of political violence.

Liberation Psychology (LP), a branch of Critical Social Psychology focused on the
experiences of oppressed groups, offers a valuable theoretical framework for analyzing and addressing power dynamics in the context of activism. Drawing from this perspective, they have have been collaborating with activists in Brazil to identify and reflect on the challenges they face and the collective responses they develop through their engagement in social movements. This approach emphasizes decoding power relations from an intersectional perspective, focusing on gender, sexuality, race, and class.

Preliminary findings are grouped into three main categories:

1. Decoding power structures: activists reported incorporating intersectional
perspectives to analyze systems of oppression, forging alliances with other social movements to address the roots of colonial-patriarchal oppression based on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, ableism, and other social markers of oppression.

2. Citizenship consciousness: activists reported developing political awareness and participation through their involvement in social movements. This includes active
engagement in city council consultations and hearings, submitting petitions, and
pressuring local governments to address the needs of Queer communities. For most,
activism was their main experience and source for political education in opposition to political alienation fostered in scholar, familiar, and religious environments.

3. Preservation of collective memory and trans-generational alliances: activists work to preserve and celebrate the history of local Queer movements through art, public
events, and publications. They collaborate with scholars and intellectuals to reflect,
document and disseminate the history of Queer communities in their regions.
Fostering gender euphoria, gender affirmation activities and social connectedness were identified as shared coping strategies in this realm.