The (re)production of a sentence: Single narratives on femicide in jury courts

Abstract

This work is based on empirical research carried out in the jury courts of João Pessoa, Paraíba, in Brazil, along with forensic practitioners and lay judges between 2016 and 2018. Through semi-structured interviews we follow how, in accordance with Law 13.104/2015, the category of femicide is included in the narratives and the perceptions of the constituent circumstances of the crime by judicial authorities and agents. This emphasizes the discursive connections between the scenarios of domestic, familial and intimate partner violence and the violent and intentional deaths of women. Despite the sedimentation of a language of prevention and combat against domestic violence, we note that the Law of Femicide is not fully understood, putting lives at risk and allowing for deadly circumstances. Thus, there are contexts, social relationships and female subjects that judicial authorities and agents remain unaware of. © 2020 Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra. All rights reserved.