Gender and Carceral Policies in Portugal

• In Event: Gender, Crime and Justice Working Group Panel 6: Women in prison

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the relation between gender, feminism and carceral policies and practices, in Portugal. We propose to understand whether and how gender equality movements have had an impact on the Portuguese justice system, specifically in prisons. Some of the academic works done in the country since the 1980s focused mainly on the context of women’s imprisonment, evidencing gender-based obstacles in the trajectories of women serving sentences. They also evidenced practices of the prison system that could be harmful for women for not considering constraints linked to gender expectations, roles, and relations. More recently, a concern to incorporate the LGBTQI+ population into academic work on gender and criminal justice has begun to emerge, although there are still very few studies on this subject. By analyzing laws, regulations, and interviews with inmates and with prison staff, we question whether and to what extent gender-equality policies, have impacted Portuguese carceral policies and practices. The results are discussed into three key dimensions: Gender (in)equalities, Sexual-gender diversity and LGBTQI+ people, and Parenthood, sexuality and reproductive rights, in prison.

Authors

• Raquel Matos, Universidade Católica Portuguesa

• Mónica Soares, Universidade de Coimbra