The Maria da Penha Law: representations of the judiciary concerning violence against women

• Autor(a) principal: PORTO, Madge
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Outros Autores: COSTA, Francisco Pereira
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.puc-campinas.edu.br/estpsi/article/view/7172
• topic: Poder judiciário; Representações; Violência contra as mulheres; Judicial power; Representations; Violence against women

The aim of the present study was to identify the representations of judges regarding violence against women in order to understand how these personal representations may or may not influence the decisions handed down when sentencing. An analysis was conducted of the content of 15 sentences handed down in a city in northern Brazil between September 2006 and August 2007 - the first year of Law 11.340/2006, known as the Maria da Penha Law. In this context, it may be stated that magistrates perceive violence against women as a component element in the relationship between men and women - as a fact that does not pose a danger to women and which is not covered by the legal statute and thereby does not constitute a crime. There is an acclimation of the social standing defined for women by the patriarchal society and the consequent invisibility of the different forms of violence women suffer, which hinders their access to justice.