The growth in political representation of Black and trans women in Brazil's city governments has not gone unnoticed by right-wing parties, making them visible targets for racist and death threats and abuse.
While murder rates are falling in Brazil, femicide rates continue to steadily climb, and with President Jair Bolsonaro at the helm, there are no promising signs of the violence abating.
In January 2019, Brazil's newly-elected president Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree relaxing restrictions on gun ownership, a move that could endanger women further in a country ranked first in the world for firearm mortality and fifth for femicides.
Why women remain outside the doors of political power is more nuanced than simply attributing it to sexism.