REFLECTIONS OF PRISON: AN ANALYSIS OF THE FEMALE PRISON SYSTEM IN BRAZIL AND MOTHERHOOD BEHIND BARS

Abstract

This study investigates the impacts of female incarceration, its impacts on the family structures of inmates, and the conditions of the Brazilian prison system for maintaining the mother-child bond, articulating concepts from Wacquant (2001) on the reproduction of inequalities, Zaffaroni (2006) on penal selectivity, and Moura (2019) on the marginalization of women in drug trafficking. The methodology used integrates historical analysis of documents from DEPEN and SISDEPEN, through the perspective of Lakatos (1978), who defends the importance of progressive research programs capable of addressing social anomalies. This work seeks to critically analyze existing public policies and propose ways to improve them, making a critical review of the legislation (Penal Enforcement Law, Legal Framework for Early Childhood) and case studies, such as field research in the Women's Prison of Ceará. It can be stated that the Brazilian penal system operates as a mechanism for controlling gender and race, neglecting the socioeconomic disparity of crime. The analyses were conducted based on the review of the Drug Law to decriminalize marginalized positions, combined with the effective implementation of the Legal Framework for Early Childhood and the creation of intersectoral policies that articulate legal assistance, psychological support, and labor reintegration programs. The work highlights, through a case study methodology, the urgency of transcending legislative reforms and confronting historical structures of exclusion and punitive selectivity, transforming already recognized rights into practices that protect mothers and children in vulnerable situations. The prison reality requires not only normative changes, but an ethical commitment to breaking intergenerational cycles of marginalization and ending a patriarchal penal selectivity already rooted in our legal system.