Fatphobia: lawsuits filed by victims grow more than 500%

Primeiro Impacto|29/04/2022 às 10:21

Fatphobia attacks on the job market have grown exponentially in the last three years.

Fatphobia is a cruel prejudice that affects thousands of people in Brazil. Fatphobia and lack of respect for people suffering from obesity have seen a staggering 500% increase in the number of lawsuits filed by victims of this discrimination in the last three years.

On April 29, 2022, psychologist Andrea Levy, president of the NGO Obesidade Brasil, gave an interview on SBT News to talk about fatphobia. She emphasized the importance of people understanding that obesity is a chronic disease. In addition, she spoke about the impact on the social and economic life of people with obesity who have fatphobia, such as isolation, fewer jobs, and lower wages.

In this interview, William Silva was one of those victims. He said that the lack of respect came from those who should care for a good working environment: a company coordinator located in Salvador (BA) started the offenses after the boy's performance was poorly evaluated by a client.

According to William, who was 23 years old and 146 kilograms, the woman began to insult him, calling him a "fat stinky" and "a baby elephant." "I still tried to seek help from the company coordinators, and she always denied it and said she would give me just cause," she reported.

The boy began to suffer physically and psychologically from the daily violence, with the coordinator giving him nicknames and colleagues laughing and, among the offenses, crying during work. In everyday life, numerous remedies to lose weight. Four months later, William resigned.

With the help of family and friends, Silva declared he decided to a lawsuit against the company. At the end of 2021, the Justice won the case for the former employee. The victim received R$ 3 thousand in compensation for moral damages. However, what he expected most did not happen: the author of the offenses continued to work usually.

In the last three years, the shares registered by fatphobia jumped from 27 in 2019 to 167 last year, representing a growth of 518%. Obesity, a disease, cannot be identified as a defect and, like racism and other types of prejudice, fatphobia is structural, naturalized as a "joke."

If you want to know more, watch the full report below.

https://www.sbtnews.com.br/noticia/primeiro-impacto/206520-gordofobia-acoes-judiciais-movidas-por-vitimas-crescem-mais-de-500