O corpo como campo de batalha: análises sobre o transporte de drogas feminino para o sistema prisional

• Ano de defesa: 2022
• Autor(a) principal: Tannuss, Rebecka Wanderley
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; Brasil; UFRN; PROGRAMA DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM PSICOLOGIA
• Palavras-chave em Português: Encarceramento feminino; Tráfico de drogas; Transporte de drogas; Tribunais superiores; Criminologia crítica; CNPQ::CIENCIAS HUMANAS::PSICOLOGIA
• Link de acesso: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/49148

The Brazilian prison system has shown alarming numbers in recent decades regarding the incarceration of women, which is evidenced by an increase of 442% between the years 2000 and 2021. The criminalization process has been predominantly directed at black, young, poor and low-educated women, in addition to being expressed in drug-related crimes. This data is related not only to a greater insertion of these women in the illegal drug market in recent years, but especially to female participation in activities of greater vulnerability and exposure, making them more susceptible to the action of criminal policy, as is the case of women who transport drugs, often referred to as “mules”. In light of this, the objective of this research was to analyze the criminalization processes that affect women who have been arrested and convicted for transporting illegal drugs to prisons. To this end, documentary research was carried out, based on the analysis of 23 decisions of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) and STJ (Supreme Court of Justice), which were selected until the year 2021, about women who were arrested transporting drugs to prisons in Brazil. Data analysis was performed from the perspective of the theoretical framework of Critical Criminology. The results found indicate that the aforementioned women arrested were, mostly, first-time offenders, who carried drugs in their private parts to male units, mothers or partners, arrested during the intimate search procedure. They carried a small quantity of drugs, and were in pre-trial detention. With regard to the narratives of the justice system, divergences were evidenced between the arguments used by the lower courts, in which there were speeches aimed at supposed female dangerousness and the justification of the arrest of these women under the argument of protection of public order, whereas those speeches pronounced by the higher courts were more progressive and more protective in terms of guaranteeing rights in the sense of defending the removal of pre-trial detention and by the understanding that women who transport drugs to prisons were not linked to criminal organizations. It was also possible to verify that the number of decisions that reach the superior courts is minimal compared to the rate of women incarcerated for drug trafficking in the country. It can be concluded that the body of women who transport drugs to prisons is constituted as a territory of disputes, a real battleground, between legal and illegal control instances. Furthermore, the speeches given by the justice system are configured as part of these control mechanisms, and even though the higher courts present themselves as progressive in the face of the current reality of female incarceration, there is still a long way to go when it comes to the imprisonment of women for the crime of drug trafficking. Given the above, the study is expected to provide critical reflections in order to break with punitive discourses and practices, promoting a critical criminological perspective in which a different place is thought for women.