Entre o afeto e as grades: A convivência familiar, comunitária e políticas públicas para mulheres encarceradas

Abstract

The present study sought to analyze how incarceration impacts the family and community relationships of women in this condition and how public policies have ensured the right to family and community coexistence. Our research is classified as qualitative and field-based, selecting the female prison unit of Miranorte-TO as a reference and adopting conversation circles and semi-structured interviews as research instruments. The data were analyzed from the perspective of critical criminology, inspired by the Marxist approach. The execution of the research revealed that the study participants are women deprived of rights such as adequate health care, the possibility of sentence remission, basic hygiene needs, and especially the right to family and community coexistence, including conjugal visits. Neglected by the state, religion ends up becoming the main support, contributing to the maintenance of the status quo, as the religious discourse produces conformity and the promise of a better life in another sphere beyond the concrete reality. At the conclusion of the research, we found that women deprived of liberty experience even greater fragility in their family and community relationships, as well as increased difficulty in accessing social rights. This process does not stem from imprisonment itself but is historically constructed when we recognize who the incarcerated people in Brazil are. We acknowledge the limitations of our research; however, we hope it has contributed to giving voice and visibility to those who are constantly silenced and neglected by the State.