Female incarceration in Brazil: analysis of the application of the Bangkok Rules based on decisions of the Supreme Federal Court

Abstract

The article analyzed the application of the Bangkok Rules, a set of guidelines for treating female prisoners, based on the Supreme Federal Court (STF) judgments. The objective was to understand the adoption of specific – and non-binding – standards on female incarceration, with a gender perspective at the internal level (Brazil), especially by the highest body of the Judiciary, and to identify existing needs and obstacles. To this end, the deductive method and exploratory research were used, and the problem was analyzed based on the bibliographic and jurisprudential research techniques. First, the position of women in a patriarchal society and the stigmas attributed to the female gender were demonstrated, followed by the exposition of human rights in the rules. And finally, the 11 decisions of the STF were analyzed.  In conclusion, it was noted that even after 10 years of their adoption, the Bangkok Rules remain largely unimplemented. According to the decisions of the Supreme Federal Court, the Judiciary only sees women in terms of the exercise of motherhood and, even so, disregards all the activities involved, as well as the particularities of each case. In this sense, it was found that female incarceration and the rules are reduced to motherhood without guaranteeing rights to others through institutional penitentiary reforms.