Psicologia no sistema prisional: influências institucionais na atuação com mulheres presas

Abstract

In 1984, by the promulgation of the Criminal Enforcement Law, psychologists were given the task of evaluative practices so that they could base legal decisions. After several discussions on the effective role of Psychology practices in the prison context, the Federal Board of Psychology issued the Resolution No. 012/2011, which regulated professional performance within prisons, emphasizing humanistic understanding and promotion of mental health of prisoners, regarding the historical reality marked by the meaningful advance in social ideals. Psychologists’ praxis then is placed in between the justice field and the health field, bringing about issues before a reality of wrecking, overcrowding, and conflicts between resocialization and segregation. In fact, the increase in the number of people in prisons in Brazil has happened since the decade of 1980, as the Welfare State has been substituted for a Punitive State, even when it comes to female prisoners. This is observed from the femininity perspective, according to criteria of patriarchal order, which gets reflected in prisons for women. Considering this context, it is relevant to analyze the influence of the prison system reality over psychologists’ work, and particularly over the ones who work with female prisoners, so that it is possible to build some knowledge that goes beyond descriptions of actions done and reaches some deep understanding, a sine qua non for making propositions. Regarding the carrying out of this research, geographic limits were stablished, focusing on female prisons in the central area of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The methodology of this study has qualitative approach and exploratory objective, and used field research procedures, such as semi-structured interviews. The data collected was analyzed by means of Thematic Content Analysis. It was possible to realize that influence of theoretical training, individual conceptions and the worldview of each professional was perceived in their performance. In addition, it is possible to observe the existence of several work processes that make up the practice of Psychology in this context. It was found that the institutional reality of the prison system also influences the actions developed, as well as these also suffer influences from the health area, consequently generating a feeling of discomfort with the reality of the practices. At various times, it is possible to gauge a certain ambiguity with regard to the performance of Psychology in prison. This ambiguity is related both to the difficulty of characterizing the performance and to the position found to act, which consists of a position of mediation between the dynamics of the prison institution and the demands of the health area.