Home as a prision

the challenges of granting home detention to mothers and pregnant women in brazil

Abstract

According to Brazilian law, home detention consists of the accused being kept at home, and is a kind of precautionary measure that should be substituted for pre-trial detention when the agent is pregnant or the mother of a child under 12 years old. However, this measure has not been widely used by the judiciary, implying a clear limitation on the interests of these women and their families. As a result, this paper aims to understand the challenges related to granting home detention to women in Brazil, as well as the impacts of the actions of legal operators in maintaining traditional female incarceration. To this end, the methodology was developed based on bibliographical and documentary research, of a qualitative nature, using Critical Criminology as its theoretical premise. After analyzing the data obtained, it emerged that there is little application of the institute for women in Brazil and that the narratives that permeate the discourses of legal operators have a moral and evaluative nature. Thust, it was possible to conclude that access to justice remains selective and perverse and that home detention is not seen as a subjective public right, but as a mere benefit that is subject to the discretion of judicial agents.