The female prison population in Brazil has grown by 700% in 16 years.

Brazil Agency - The female prison population in Brazil grew by 698%, according to the most recent data from the National Penitentiary Department (Depen), an agency of the Ministry of Justice. In 2000, there were 5.601 women serving sentences of deprivation of liberty. In 2016, the number jumped to 44.721. In just two years, between December 2014 and December 2016, there was an increase of 19,6%, rising from 37.380 to 44.721.

The information was sent to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) this week at the request of Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, in a decision that followed up on a habeas corpus petition seeking to release all pregnant women, postpartum women (who gave birth within the last 45 days), or mothers of children up to 12 years of age under their care who are being held in pretrial detention, that is, incarcerated without a final conviction from the courts. Of all women currently imprisoned in the country, 43% have not yet had their cases definitively judged.

The acceptance of the lawsuit, filed by the Collective of Lawyers for Human Rights (CADHu), represents a rare move by the Court, as it aims to benefit a group of people, not just one individual. Due to the potential impact, Minister Lewandowski summoned the Federal Public Defender's Office (DPU) to express interest in participating in the case, which has already occurred. "The Public Defender's Office is concerned with the protection that must be guaranteed to both pregnant women and mothers with young children who depend on them. The priority in these cases should be the well-being of the children, in order to prevent them from being raised in a prison environment," says public defender Gustavo Ribeiro, responsible for representing the DPU before the Supreme Court.

Incarcerated pregnant women

Of the total number of women incarcerated, 80% are mothers and the primary, or even sole, caregivers of their daughters and sons, which is why "the effects of female incarceration generate other serious social consequences," reports Depen.

In his request for information to the Ministry of Justice, Minister Ricardo Lewandowski asked for the identification of all pregnant women or mothers of children in prison. Only ten states provided the data, sending the names of 113 pregnant women or women with children accompanying them in prison, distributed across 41 prison units. However, women's rights organizations estimate that this number is much higher.

In a study released in June, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) analyzed the situation of the incarcerated female population living with children in women's prisons in the country, having interviewed at least 241 mothers. Fiocruz diagnosed that 36% of them did not have adequate access to prenatal care; 15% stated that they had suffered some type of violence; 32% of pregnant prisoners did not undergo syphilis testing, and 4,6% of the children were born with the congenital form of the disease.

Drug trafficking

In a comparison between different countries, Brazil has the fifth largest female prison population in the world, behind the United States (205.400 inmates), China (103.766), Russia (53.304), and Thailand (44.751), according to data from Infopen Mulheres, released in 2015. Of the total number of women imprisoned, 60% are incarcerated for drug trafficking-related crimes. “Drug trafficking is always treated as an extremely serious offense, even if the person has no prior convictions, is a first-time offender; the general rule is that they will be imprisoned,” criticizes federal public defender Gustavo Ribeiro.

The Depen (National Penitentiary Department) points out that most women subjected to prison sentences "have no connection with large criminal organizations, nor do they hold management or high-level positions, and they usually occupy supporting roles in these types of crimes," says the document sent to the STF (Supreme Federal Court).

Ribeiro adds that many times, these women enter the drug trade by assuming roles previously played by their partners after they are imprisoned or, in the case of international trafficking, by being recruited, through payment or even threats, to transport drugs from one country to another. The advocate emphasizes that there are national and international rules, such as the Bangkok Rules of the United Nations, already ratified by Brazil, which indicate that non-custodial measures should be prioritized in the trials of female offenders.