Feminicídio e sistema de justiça criminal : uma análise dos processos judiciais da comarca de Belo Horizonte/MG (2000-2016)

Abstract

This research refers to an exploratory case study of the Criminal Justice System of the district of Belo Horizonte and has the judicial processes of feminicides as unit of analysis. The scope of this work is limited to the processes that were initiated and sentenced in January 2000 to October 2016. It was conducted a qualitative content analysis of the pieces that comprised the procedural records, ranging from documents related to initial investigative phase of the crime until its final decisions (whether to the conviction or appeal phase). The Judicial processes express the power of legal discourse, its complex system of language imbricated by legal issues - laws and legal conventions - and social - moral values and social conceptions - represent a way of speaking and dealing with gender relations. From a feminist perspective, we tried to identify whether the agents arguments were based on gender stereotypes and prejudices or whether it was possible to identify an emancipatory perspective of gender, seeking to understand the political effects of such narratives on the women's rights. The results reveal that, in an expressive way, the murderer’s defenses still argue based on gender stereotypes, constructing dichotomically opposed narratives between men and women, good men and bad women. At the other extreme, most accusations still feature a supposedly gender-neutral discourse, ignoring the explicit attempts to disqualify women from defenses, contributing to the victims' violation of the rights to truth and justice. In addition, there were conviction speeches that attributed guilt to the victims for the acts that led to the fatal outcome. Thus, it is observed that the first steps in confronting discriminatory practices have already been given - with the implementation of public policies and specific legislation - but it is recognized that there is still a long way to go in the face of discriminatory discourses that reiterate violence and subjection of women in society, thus harming their rights.