Law and gender inequality: a historical-legislative analysis of domestic violence in Brazil

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the historical evolution of the legislative treatment of domestic violence in Brazil, which culminated with the creation of Law 11.340/2006 (Maria da Penha Law). A historical overview of the status of women in the Brazilian legal system is constructed, relating it to the dominant conceptions of gender relations and analysing its evolution, driven by the feminist movement, as well as the process of drafting the Maria da Penha Law. The aim is thus to understand this law as the product of a broader historical-legislative process.