Gender and criminality: Is female protagonism upside down?

Abstract

This article is about gender and female crime. In general, the concept of gender is linked to the social construction of being a man and being a woman, attributing specific characteristics and roles to them, in an attempt to escape the biological determinisms associated with the terms sex and sexual difference. It can be said that the aspects involving the phenomenon of female criminality are more complex than those related to men, not only because they commit less crimes, but because the reduced number implies greater difficulties in research. Thus, the study aims to discuss the phenomenon of female criminality as an element that permeates the issue of gender. To support the discussion, the works of: Scott (1995); Camacho (1997); Saffioti (1994); Almeida (2003). The bibliographic review was used as a methodological path, as well as the hypothetical-deductive method, which is based on the perception and theoretical deepening of a given problem. The preliminary conclusion reveals the need to address gender issues, without neglecting aspects such as criminality in which many women are directly involved, leaving them in an even more vulnerable situation, since they are made invisible by the State regarding the treatment that is given for the legitimation of authoritarian security policies and for the control of the impoverished masses.