The story of an event, like that of an image, is also made up of cut-outs. Each speech, each gesture, each pause is a choice that reveals ways of looking at the world. During the meeting on Inclusive Judiciary: building Justice without barriers, held on Thursday (May 15th) in the auditorium of the Court of Justice of the State of Tocantins (TJTO), all the speeches seemed essential. Even so, this text is just a fragment of what was actually shared.
What follows is an attempt to record an entire day dedicated to the listening, reflection and collective commitment to a more accessible, pluralistic and difference-sensitive justice system.
Developed by the Permanent Commission for Accessibility and Inclusion (CPAI), in partnership with the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (Esmat), the event included, in addition to the opening lecture given by retired judge and CPAI member Adhemar Chúfalo Filho, who is a wheelchair user, five other exhibitions.
Institutional Empowerment: Recognizing In Order To Transform
The second lecture of the day was given by Lawyer Joelson Dias, representative of the Federal Council of the BAR at Conade (National Council for the Rights of People with Disabilities), with mediation by the general chief of Justice, Judge Pedro Nelson de Miranda Coutinho.
With the theme on “Institutional capacitism: recognizing in order to transform”, Joelson, who is visually impaired, began his speech by highlighting the concern of the event with ensuring full accessibility for the participants, with Libras interpreters, simple language and diversity at the tables. Before going into the technical approach, the speaker asked: “Am I really going to talk about institutional capacitism?”, he said, and then confirmed that yes, it was not limited to a specific court, but to the entire justice system.
“Recognizing institutional capacitism in the Judiciary is not an act of criticism, but the first step in a collective act of reconstruction: transforming the justice system from a spectator into the protagonist of the inclusive revolution that our Constitution demands. [...] Justice that cannot be achieved by everyone is simply not Justice," he argued.
The lawyer drew attention to the fact that institutional ableism operates silently and structurally. "To think of institutional ableism is to think of structural discrimination. We can only talk about ableism in the same way that we talk about sexism, racism, homophobia and ageism, because there is a structural prejudice that leads to all of these,“ he said, adding: ”What is actually vulnerable are rights, not people.".”
Overcoming these barriers, he says, is the duty of society and institutions. "It's not the person who has to overcome them. It's not the individual. It's society and our powers that have to overcome these barriers and obstacles," he said.
“Recognizing the problem, the challenge - exactly as this Court has set out to do - is the first step in this necessary transformation towards a judicial system that is truly accessible, equitable and committed to human dignity in all its diversity. Everybody matters," he concluded, stressing that the change needs to go beyond norms; real practices of inclusion need to be implemented.
Accessible Communication In The Judiciary: A Right For All
The third lecture, still in the morning, was given by Priscilla Selares, a lawyer and president of the Municipal Council for the Rights of People with Disabilities in the city of São Luís (MA). The mediator was Lawyer Marques Elex, who works in the district court of Araguaína (TO). The debater was Mônica Ferreira da Costa, president of the Municipal Council for People with Disabilities in the city of Palmas (TO).
Right from the start, Marques, who is visually impaired, highlighted the value of the event for taking place outside of commemorative dates and praised the organization. “The event is a milestone for our TJTO,” he said, after reading the CV of the speaker in Braille.
In her speech, Priscilla addressed the fundamental role of accessible communication in the justice system.
“Justice is only truly fair if everyone can understand and access it. And we can't talk about Justice that is truly fair unless all people - and here everyone, in the true meaning of all the human diversity that we have - are able to understand and access this Judiciary," she said.
She explained that accessible communication is not limited to the understanding of content, but it begins with access to information. “It's important to point out that accessible communication is necessary so that all people, regardless of their disability, education or social class, can understand the information being transmitted,” she stressed.
Priscilla emphasized that society is plural and, for this reason, effective communication requires equally diverse forms. Using IBGE data from 2022, the lawyer pointed out that 18.6 million Brazilians have some kind of disability, but only 2% of blind people read Braille fluently, which only reinforces the urgency of multiple accessible formats.
In her testimony, debater Mônica highlighted the change in mentality within the justice system:
“I think it's extremely important. I think it's a big step that we're taking in terms of inclusion and accessibility. 2025 has been a very different year within the Court of Justice; I've been able to hear about the Braille system, about Libras, about accessibility, inclusion. [...] This change in mentality is very important. And this event is in line with that change," she said.
Art And Inclusion: The Voice Of Duda Leite
The return to activities in the afternoon was marked by a moment of sensitive and representative listening. The young artist Maria Eduarda Leite Araújo, known as Duda Leite, shared with the audience her trajectory and the transformative role of art in her life.
At 22, Duda is the author of the exhibition presented during the event. Passionate about painting, she began studying art history in 2022 and she has stood out for her reinterpretations of great masters such as Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Monet, Portinari and Ivan Cruz.
“Art is fundamental to me because it allows me to communicate and understand the world in a richer and deeper way. It helps me express my feelings, explore my creativity and connect with other people and cultures. Art also helps me develop important skills such as creativity, the ability to solve problems and to analyze and receive information," she shared.
At the end of her speech, Duda left the audience with a message of encouragement: "Be who you are. Don't care what others think of you. Be strong and believe in your dreams. We're all in this together: inclusion is built collectively.”
The Deaf Person And The Judiciary: Without Libras There Is No Justice
The fourth lecture was presented by Clarissa Gomes de Souza, a hearing-impaired civil server at the Federal Regional Court of the 5th Region - Judicial Section of the state of Paraíba (TRF5-SJPB). The theme of her presentation was “The deaf person and the Judiciary: without Libras there is no Justice”. The mediation was conducted by Patrícia Idehara, executive secretary of the CPAI.
Clarissa began her speech by sharing her experience as an oralized deaf person, i.e. she was born hearing and gradually lost her hearing. This experience allowed her to reflect on the diversity within the deaf community and the importance of the justice system recognizing the multiple forms of communication.
“It's important for us to position ourselves in the world to understand how we contribute to this debate. Thinking about a Judiciary without barriers requires recognizing that there is diversity even within disability," she emphasized.
The speaker emphasized that the Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) has its own grammar and, although she praised the reception during the event, she warned that this is still not the reality in most Brazilian public institutions. She also defended respect for the identity of each individual within the diversity of hearing impairment.
“There will be deaf people who don't communicate in Libras, others who identify themselves as hearing-impaired. And we need to respect that, because it's about the identity of that individual," she said.
In a powerful analogy, Clarissa compared the experience of a deaf person to that of a foreigner: “Being deaf is being a foreigner in your own country,” she said. “Society still doesn't offer linguistically inclusive spaces.” She stressed that the disability is in the environment, not in the body, and that the biggest barrier faced by deaf people is linguistic indifference.
“Without language, there is no voice. Without a voice, there is no justice," she added.
At the end, Patrícia Idehara highlighted the accessibility services offered by the TJTO to civil servers and magistrates, as well as the courses promoted by Esmat, especially in Libras and topics related to inclusion. She also stressed the importance of using simple language in accessibility, so that the Libras translator can fully convey what is being communicated to the deaf person.
Autism And Neurodivergence In The Justice System: Challenges In Understanding Comprehensive Accessibility
The fifth lecture was given by Neuropsychologist and cognitive rehabilitator Jordanna Parreira, with mediation by Judge Gil Correia of the TJTO. The theme of the talk was “Autism and Neurodivergence in the Justice System: challenges in understanding for integral accessibility”.
With a technical and sensitive approach, Jordanna spoke about the importance of recognizing diverse neurological functioning as a legitimate part of human plurality. According to her, understanding neurodivergence is fundamental to build a justice system that is fully accessible, and not just adapted.
“Stopping to study, stopping to learn, to know, to have effectively scientific information about the disorder and all the neurodivergences must be done on an ongoing basis. And that's where I see the challenges we face as a society, as the Judiciary, as families. Because if everything is so new and needs to be studied and revised all the time, how can we keep up with a science that never stops, that brings answers all the time? So we forever have to look for information in order to make a coherent intervention, based on ethics and science," she admitted.
Legal Capacity Of People With Disabilities
Closing the programming, Judge Katia Roncada, assistant to the President of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), presented the lecture on “Legal Capacity of People with Disabilities”. Mediation was carried out by Judge Arióstenes Guimarães, assistant to the President of the TJTO.
Katia addressed the normative advances and practical challenges related to recognize the full legal capacity of people with disabilities. She highlighted the alignment of the Brazilian legal system with the International Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which has constitutional status, and with the Brazilian Inclusion Law (Law No. 13.146/2015). The lecture emphasized that overcoming guardianship practices, such as unrestricted guardianship and disproportionate court decisions, requires a change in the institutional culture.
Testimonial
Throughout the event, participants also shared their perceptions on the importance of the agenda and the impact of the programming. Lawyer Agnaldo Quintino, who is visually impaired, praised the role of the TJTO in promoting institutional accessibility:
“First of all, I would like to congratulate the Court of Justice of the State of Tocantins, which is the court that is ahead of all the courts in Brazil. We haven't seen a court in Brazil so concerned with accessibility. And the lectures at this event, each one better than the last. They were all incisive, straight to the point, they gave us a lot of knowledge and showed society in general the importance of inclusion," he said.
What remained after this event is that inclusion only becomes a reality when it goes beyond discourse and reaches practice. When it stops being an occasional agenda and becomes a permanent commitment, reflected in decisions, access, languages and spaces. What was heard in the auditorium of the TJTO, in the speeches and in the different ways of expressing themselves, was the call for a justice system that recognizes diversity as a rule, not an exception. Because without full accessibility, there is no full democracy. And without real listening, there is no possible justice.
All the images in this content have alternative descriptions. The event included translation into Libras, subtitling and self-description during the speeches.
