Domestic violence and the challenges to the enforcement of the Maria da Penha Law: analyzing the decisions of the Courts of Justice from Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo

Authors

  • Flávia Passeri Nascimento Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo
  • Fabiana Cristina Severi Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18316/redes.v7i3.5229

Keywords:

Maria da Penha Law, Law 11340/2006, General Recommendation on Women’s Access to Justice, Gender Violence, Domestic Violence.

Abstract

In this paper we seek to analyze the challenges faced in legal interpretation and practical application of Maria da Penha Law. To that end, three questions guided our research: how do Brazilian judges and courts interpret and, therefore, apply this Law? Who have been granted its application? Who has been requesting its application? Based on an empirical quantitative research in the Minas Gerais (TJMG) and São Paulo (TJSP) Courts, we have concluded that although Maria da Penha Law has been created to protect exclusively the feminine gender, the Courts have applied it for victims who were not women when their vulnerability were recognized. On the other hand, they have not applied it to female victims when the Courts could not recognize the woman’s vulnerability or the existence of gender violence, or when the victim did not fit the stereotype “grown woman whose abuser is a man”.

Author Biographies

Flávia Passeri Nascimento, Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo

Mestranda em Direito pela Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FDRP/USP). Bacharela em Direito pela Faculdade de Direito de Franca (FDF). É membra do Grupo de Estudos de Pesquisa em Direitos Humanos, Democracia e Desigualdades da FDRP-USP, liderado pela Professora Doutora Fabiana Cristina Severi e Pesquisadora Associada à Rede de Pesquisa Empírica em Direito (REED).

Fabiana Cristina Severi, Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo

Professora Associada ao Departamento de Direito Público da Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FDRP/USP) e do Programa de Mestrado da mesma instituição. Livre Docente em Direitos Humanos pela FDRP/USP (2017). Coordenadora do Núcleo de Assessoria Jurídica Popular de Ribeirão Preto (NAJURP). Líder do Grupo de Pesquisa em Direitos Humanos, Democracia e Desigualdades da USP.

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Published

2019-10-21

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 3 (2019)

Section

Articles

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