Women under penal sanctions

Abstract

The objective of this article is to characterize imprisoned and non- imprisoned women  in the State of São Paulo, as  well as the realities faced by them while under penal sanctions, searching,  to the possible extent, for a comparison with the male population  under the same sanctions.  In the case of imprisoned women, such exposition is based on data from the Justice Department and SAP (Penitentiary Administration Office), and , in the case of non-imprisoned women, documental research on the Presidente Prudente Center for  Penalties and Alternative Measures Monthly Follow-up Reports . Results showed that, when compared with the male population, women have to face extra difficulties when under penal sanctions. They also showed that gender inequalities are also present in the universe of these women, which are materialized in the compliance with the penal conditions and in the maintenance of the female responsibility for care taking, mainly of children.