Record Details
The effects of procedural justice policies for the domestic violence courts in Recife, Brazil
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | The effects of procedural justice policies for the domestic violence courts in Recife, Brazil |
| Names |
Amorim, Mariana Fernandes Da Cunha Loureiro
(creator) Akins, Scott (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 2014-06-02 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 2014 |
| Abstract | To combat violence against women, the Brazilian government enacted the Maria da Penha Law (MPL) in 2006 and established the domestic violence specialized courts. Based on the assumption that fair procedures enhance the legitimacy of legal authorities and may enhance victims’ satisfaction and cooperation with prosecution, this research aims to analyze the presence of procedural justice elements within specialized courts in Recife, Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen professionals who work in Recife’s network to combat domestic violence and the collected data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The codes were defined deductively, according to the existing literature on procedural justice framework. The procedural justice elements analyzed were: information, consistency, accuracy, status recognition and control. It was found that operational and structural changes and increments should take place in order to ensure perceptions of fairness within court processes: agencies do not share information and lack human and structural resources; victims are not informed of court processes and have little influence on them; service delivery is not specialized; disposition and execution of sentences are inconsistent. It is recommended that specialized courts: increase information sharing with other agents of the network to combat domestic violence; establish a victim advocacy program; separate protective measures from criminal charges; provide mandatory domestic violence training for court employees; and promote workshops for specialized court’s judges in order to establish a consensual interpretation of the MPL. |
| Genre | Research Paper |
| Topic | Law and Crime Policy |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/48992 |
