Gender justice and human rights of women: a critical review of decisions of justice courts the Southeast of the country

• Grant number: 11/12146-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: January 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Law - Public Law
• Principal Investigator: Fabiana Cristina Severi
• Grantee: Fabiana Cristina Severi
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Direito de Ribeirão Preto (FDRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims at investigating the relations between the Brazilian Courts of Appeal and the Brazilian society in order to comprehend critically the difficulties regarding access to justice and the effectiveness of women's human rights. Its object of analysis will be the legal decisions of the Courts of Appeal of the federal States located in the southeastern region of the country. The decisions to be examined from the perspective of gender were given in the last three years. Their investigation shall demonstrate the views of the judges regarding the role, space and characteristics related to gender (masculine and feminine), in order to identify the discursive elements applied to the judgments. The research will also gather, in a systemized way (through the creation of a database) the judicial decisions that, in its core, taking into account themes such as gender, feminism, woman and others like health, "reproductive autonomy", property, family right, access to justice, work and violence, in order to subsidy the legal and normative arguments regarding women' human rights and regarding the conception of a "gender justice". From the methodological perspective, the research will be based on the "Critical Analysis of the Discourse" as a new methodological proposal to examine judicial decisions. By using this method, it is expected to provide subsidies for the Courts of Appeal to better understand their legal practice and, possibly, redefine administrative aspects as well as some of their precedents in a way to add in the gender perspective in the Court practice. (AU)