Abstract

ZAIKOSKI, Daniela. Gender and criminal law: tensions in the discourse. Aljaba [online]. 2008, vol.12, pp.117-134. ISSN 1669-5704.

The objetive of this paper is to present the theoretical progress that relates the problems concerning criminal law, procedural criminal law, gender theory and feminism, making a brief description of the contribution given by national and foreign authors. It tries to reach a theoretical perspective that helps the critic interpretations of criminal law and preserves the non-discriminatory bias of gender theory and feminism, as long as disciplines belonging to the human rights paradigm. The last issue is not always possible to reach, since contradictions and valuable contributions, although tense among them, can be found. On the one hand, those tensions between gender theory and criminal law difficult the possibility of having an extensive discourse about the needs of specific groups, especially women that are caught in the punitive power nets. On the other hand, the same tensions lead to the discussion about women and the judicial discourse, as this is a powerful instrument that creates law subject and crystallizes social relationships.

Keywords : Gender; Criminal law; Feminism; Critical theory; Human rigths.

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