As representações da mulher no código penal de 1940 e a tutela jurídica da sexualidade feminina

Abstract

The main purpose of the present work is to analyze, from the perspective of feminist critical criminology, the doctrinal constructions elaborated by the Brazilian juridical doctrine on sexual offenses, originally denominated by the Criminal Code of 1940 as Crimes against the Customs. It seeks to understand how theinclusion of expressions such as "virgin woman" and "honest woman" in the legal text impacted the treatment of victims of sexual violence. Therefore, it focuses on the mentality established in Brazil about the female sexuality and the protection of sexualmorality as a legal good, throughthe bibliographic examination of the social records and legal works produced in this context. It also analyzes the theoretical possibilities of the study of the criminalsystem by the critical criminology, addressing not only the paradigm of social reaction, but also the use of gender as a category of analysis useful to criminological knowledge. Itquestions about the role of law as a normalizer of social behaviorand as an instrument to custodywomen's sexuality and limittheir autonomy. It concludes by the inability of the legal system to protect women from sexual violence and the need to establish multidisciplinary public policies as an effective and coherent alternative to fight gender violence.