In times when Brazil faces both political stagnation and moments of undeniable progress in the recognition of rights, the release of Olívia Paixão’s book Entre a Batalha e o Direito: Prostituição, Travestilidade e Trabalho stands as a powerful and timely contribution. The book emerges in the same month that the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court affirmed the right of trans women, trans men, and travestis to change their name and gender on official records, marking an important step in the struggle for dignity and legal equality. Against this backdrop, Paixão’s work brings to light another crucial aspect of trans existence often silenced in legal and academic discussions: the realities of trans women and travestis who engage in sex work.
The author, a lawyer and former member of the Human Rights and LGBT Citizenship Center (NUH) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, has spent years researching and interacting with trans sex workers in the main prostitution zones of her city. Her observations and experiences form the backbone of this book, which is both a legal study and a sociopolitical testimony. She explores the dissonance between the formal language of law and the lived realities of those who fight daily for survival and recognition. The title itself, Between Battle and Law, captures this tension perfectly: the “battle” refers to the everyday struggle of travestis and trans women in the streets, while the “law” represents a world of formal justice that often overlooks them.
