Trajetórias de mulheres sobreviventes do Sistema Penitenciário na cidade de São Paulo

Abstract

Brazil is one of the countries with the highest growth in the incarceration rate, including women, demonstrating a process of escalation of mass incarceration and “war on drugs” policy. This also generates an increase in the number of people released from the prison system. In this context, this research seeks to understand what former women who are ex-prisoners can count on when they leave prison in the city of São Paulo, particularly regarding public policies for prison egresses. To this end, mixed methodologies are used, starting from a quantitative stage, with data and bibliographic analysis, to bring the theoretical basis and the main criminal legislation that involves the subject, in addition to tracing an overview of the Brazilian penitentiary system and the profile of women serving a custodial sentence. Still at this stage, the penitentiary policy and care for female ex-egresses in São Paulo were analyzed, highlighting the “CAEF” as the main service. Subsequently, in a qualitative stage, three women survivors of the prison system told their experiences after leaving prison, reporting what they could count on and what was needed, thinking about ways to minimize the effects of prison on the lives of people who were imprisoned. It is concluded that there is a lack of support on the part of the State to the people who have been released, there is no preparation for leaving prison, and services such as “CAEF” are poorly accessed. Imprisonment impacts the lives of survivors of the system in a way that deeply harms them, both psychologically, as well as in their social relationships and in the (re)placement in the formal job market. Despite this, it is necessary to think about social reintegration, and how to carry it out despite the penalty and prison, developing public policies that start inside the prison, aiming at the condition of egress, and continue outside it