Questions related to race in the struggle against gender violence: Subalternity processes related to the maria da penha law

Abstract

The Maria da Penha Law (MPL) constitutes a great achievement in the struggle for gender parity. The social process that resulted in the MPL significantly altered the terms in which domestic violence was discussed in the country, allowing the issue to leave the circle of experts and become an important point of debate in the public sphere. However, its results have been diverse with respect to different women’s bodies. Data show that the law has served to decrease the incidence of violence against white women, but it has not had the same effect for the protection of black women. Relying on theoretical framework provided by black feminisms and decolonial/postcolonial feminisms, this article presents contends that black women who are victims of violence have been subalternized and silenced, and it discusses the role which the hegemonic feminism and the judicial system play in this process. The intention, on one hand, is to problematize, rather than condemn, strategies of the Brazilian hegemonic feminist movement in the formulation and enforcement of this law, which contribute to the reproduction of hierarchies amongst women. On the other hand, this paper also aims to evidence how the judicial system functions in order to maintain racial hierarchies in questions related to gender violence.