Maria da Penha Law: a critical analysis in the light of feminist criminology

Abstract

This study is an essay that aims to analyze critically the punitivist approach of the criminal justice system in the context of domestic and family violence against women; and point out alternative paths, without, however, discarding the contributions of a feminist referential. It seeks a congruence between the points relative to the critical criminology of criminal law with the stiffening of the punitivist system, in order to ascertain whether the mode of treatment of the Maria da Penha Law is the most appropriate. The justice system perceives the woman as an object inserted in a predetermined scheme of violence, and from that denies her voice. Protecting women is directly related the strengthen women, and giving them the role of protagonist in their own lives. Restorative justice can be used as leverage of Brazilian democracy, facilitating the so-called “collective creation of justice”, maximize the effectively fair effect of decisions and strengthening of citizenship, provided that it is well structured.