Purpose – This paper aims to provide an overview of the nature of hate-motivated crimes in Brazil byfocusing on offenses against LGBTQIþ people and discussing the current legal approaches tocombating hate-motivated crimes.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on secondary sources and analysis of existingliterature in the field, which is primarily in the Portuguese language.Findings – There is no formal definition of hate crime in Brazil. However, it is estimated that Brazil has oneof the highest rates of hate crimes perpetrated against LGBTQIþ people in the world, and lethal violenceagainst this group has been on the increase since 2000, especially among black and brown LGBTQIþpeople. In more than half of the lethal incidents in public places, often in large cities, the victims and theperpetrators are typically young. The study shows how the lack of a unified legal definition for hatemotivatedcrimes directly impacts LGBTQIþ people, poses challenges for organizations when collectingdata on this group and highlights the need for legislation and enforcement agencies to promotetransparency around hate crimes in Brazil.Research limitations/implications – The study shows how the lack of a unified legal definition for hatemotivatedcrimes directly impacts LGBTQIþ people, poses challenges for organizations when collectingdata on this group and highlights the need for legislation and enforcement agencies to promotetransparency around hate crimes in Brazil.Originality/value – The paper contributes to the literature on gender violence through the analysis ofvarious data sources, created and disseminated by advocacy agencies and other related institutions, onhate crimes against LGBTQIþ people in Brazil.