Binary Australia: Isabella Cêpa was facing 25 years in prison for truth speech
Michael Barnett OAM
Isabella Cêpa was facing 25 years in prison for truth speech
A Brazilian women’s rights activist who was facing 25 years in prison for calling a man, a man, has been granted political asylum in Europe.
Isabella Cêpa was outraged to discover that a man had been elected and touted as the highest female vote winner in 2020. The thing is Erika Hilton is male and he took great offence for being correctly identified as male. Reduxx has been reporting on the story for years.
At the time of his victory, Hilton was celebrated in international media as being a “symbolic triumph” for transgender people. Hilton was amongst the top 10 most-voted for candidates in all of Brazil, and was touted as the “only woman” to make the list.
It was the widespread announcement of his victory that first put him on Cêpa’s radar.
“At the time I didn’t even know who this person was. I just saw a headline on an Instagram page celebrating that ‘the most voted woman in São Paulo is a transwoman,’” Cêpa told Reduxx during a 2022 interview, recounting how her ordeal began. “Then, I shared a video with my followers saying I was disappointed to hear that the most voted-for woman in São Paulo – later found out that it was in the entire country – was a man.”
It wasn’t until 2022 that Isabella discovered Hilton had complained to police and she was facing five charges related to the truth speak, otherwise known as “misgendering”.
The charge stems from a 2019 decision by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, which ruled that discrimination against ‘LGBTQ Community’ constituted a penal offense, and fell under existing race-based protections as a form of “racism.”
Prior to pressing charges, the Public Prosecutor had combed through Cêpa’s social media posts to find additional statements that could be perceived as “transphobic.” From the news article, Cêpa discovered that she was facing up to 25 years in prison for the supposed “crime.”
While travelling to visit a friend in Spain, Isabella was alerted to the potential of being imprisoned for “truth speak” and advised not to return to Brazil. She has sought refuge in a European nation and has recently been granted official refugee status.
Reduxx has now confirmed that Cêpa has successfully obtained refugee status with the assistance of the European Union Agency for Asylum — making her the first Brazilian citizen to receive this designation for state persecution since 1985. Reduxx is withholding the name of the host country to protect Cêpa’s privacy.
The case has been before the courts for years and just this week it was decided that calling a man, a man, in Brazil is not illegal after all. Isabella celebrated her win with this social media post.
It’s official: my case has now reached res judicata in Brazil.
From today, September 9th 2025, it sets a binding precedent - the attempt to criminalize radical feminist speech has failed.
I'll put this in a frame:
