Mulheres e tráfico de drogas: análises da inserção e atuação feminina no mercado de drogas

Abstract

The repressive criminal policy, which selectively punishes certain social groups, and the war on drugs have a strong impact on women who are involved in the drug market. This is clearly seen by the growing increase in female incarceration, which from 2000 to 2016 grew by 656%, and by June 2017, 64.48% of women were imprisoned for their relationship with drug trafficking. Thus, the present work aimed to analyze the insertion and performance of women in drug trafficking. To do so, a bibliographical research was carried out. It was verified that there are many trajectories that women go through until they get involved in drug trafficking. Among these are the processes of feminization of poverty, since, with the increase in the number of poor women heading families, for which they are the only ones financially responsible, and with the difficulty of entering the formal market, where they occupy subordinate and precarious positions, drug trafficking becomes a means that allows them to support their relatives. In the trafficking network, they occupy, most of the time, subordinate and precarious positions that are more susceptible to the penalizing action of the State. This reveals itself as a reproduction of gender inequality and the sexual division of labor that exists in the formal market. However, it can be seen that some women have also started to occupy positions, although rarely, that are commonly attributed to men, within the trafficking network. Therefore, these women are not only victims, but also protagonists of their trajectories. Furthermore, it became evident that when they commit crimes, women are doubly punished, by the criminal system (formal control) and by society (informal control), since their deviation is seen as not only from the law, but also from their social roles.