Can law be an instrument to combat racism and sexism in Brazil?

Abstract

This article stems from the following research problem: can Law be an instrument to combat racism and sexism? Starting from the observation that the prison system reproduces slave-like structures and racial and gender hierarchies, we suggest a reversal of the legal framework in favor of an emancipatory reading of Law capable of confronting structural inequalities. To this end, we propose intersectionality as a theoretical framework for understanding anti-discrimination protection. From a feminist and anti-racist epistemology, we use the exploratory-critical method to review data from the penitentiary system and analyze decisions and laws between 2000 and 2024. We seek to answer the following questions: 1) What is the current scenario? Racial and female over-incarceration; 2) Through which lens should the phenomenon be analyzed? Intersectionality; and 3) Is there a possible instrument to solve question 1? In this scenario, intersectionality reveals the invisibility of incarcerated Black women. Our conclusions reflect on how the National Council of Justice's (CNJ) Gender-Perspective and Anti-Racist Judgment Protocols represent "non-reformist" advances, capable of transforming institutional practices and expanding recognition and social redistribution.

Keywords: Intersectionality; Female incarceration; Structural racism; Anti-discrimination law;