THE DRUG LAW AND THE FEMALE MASS INCARCERATION IN BRAZIL: AN INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS

Abstract

This article analyzes the phenomenon of female mass incarceration in Brazil, driven by Law No. 11,343/2006 (the Drug Law). From an intersectional approach, which articulates the categories of gender, race, and class, and based on official data and critical literature, it is argued that this law, by failing to establish objective criteria for the distinction between traffickers and users, intensifies penal selectivity. This dynamic results in the disproportionate punishment of black, poor, young, and low-educated women who assume subordinate positions in drug retail. The study examines the profile of the female prison population, the motivations for entering crime, the impact of incarceration on motherhood and family structures, and the inadequacy of public policies. The methodology combines systematic literature review, documentary analysis of legislation and official data from INFOPEN, SISDEPEN and RASEAM, as well as critical analysis based on feminist and critical criminology. It is concluded that the war on drugs operates as a mechanism of control over specific bodies and territories, deepening historical inequalities and perpetuating a cycle of vulnerability and violence, which demands the formulation of alternative penal and social policies, based on a gender perspective and human rights. The work contributes to the academic debate by demonstrating how the intersectionality of oppressions produces unique experiences of criminalization, highlighting the urgent need for structural reforms in the Brazilian criminal justice system.