Racially stratified legal effectiveness of integral protection

an analysis of obstacles to adequate fruition of childhood and adolescence law in Brazil in 2019 and 2020

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11117/rdp.v19i104.6731

Abstract

The paper carries out an empirical analysis of aspects of childhood and adolescence law, not however informed by a generic approach to legal efficacy pertaining to an abstract universal subject, but rather with a racialized approach to legal efficacy, taking into account racial cleavages. The seeks to answer whether, and in what degree, racial strata are relevant to the fruition of the right to childhood and adolescence through variables which relate to aspects that undermine integral protection, such as: homicides, deaths by incidents, deaths caused by accidental firearm discharges, deaths of persons under one year of age, low-birth weight, notifications of neglect and abandonment, of physical and sexual violence; of sexual harassment and exploitation against children and adolescents, and of child pornography. The methodology is quantitative in nature and focused on descriptive statistics. The research timespan encompasses the years of 2019 and 2020, and the data is referred to Brazil. The main finding is that race/color of children and adolescents mattered to the fruition of the right to integral protection. Better levels of fruition corresponded to the white stratum of race/color, while black and indigenous strata accounted for worse positioning. Another important finding is that homicides of persons under 19 years old and deaths caused by accidental firearm discharges were the most race-sensitive variables, while low-birth weight had the lowest racial bias among the variables encompassed in the research. The results challenge characterizations of de-racialized childhood and adolescence in Brazil.

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Author Biographies

Jaira Rodrigues de Mello, Universidade Federal de Jataí. (UFJ). Jataí (GO). Brasil

Bacharel em Direito pela Universidade Federal de Jataí. Advogada.

Hugo Luís Pena Ferreira, Universidade Federal de Jataí. (UFJ). Jataí (GO). Brasil

Doutor em Direito pela Universidade de Brasília. Professor do Curso de Direito da Universidade Federal de Jataí. 

Elisângela da Silva Santos, Universidade Federal de Jataí. (UFJ). Jataí (GO). Brasil

Doutora em Ciências Sociais pela Universidade Estadual Paulista/Marília. Professora de Sociologia e Fundamentos na Universidade Federal de Jataí.

Published

2023-01-31

How to Cite

Rodrigues de Mello, J., Luís Pena Ferreira, H., & da Silva Santos, E. (2023). Racially stratified legal effectiveness of integral protection: an analysis of obstacles to adequate fruition of childhood and adolescence law in Brazil in 2019 and 2020. Public Law, 19(104). https://doi.org/10.11117/rdp.v19i104.6731

Issue

Section

Chamada de Dossiê Temático "Dignidade Humana, Pobreza Multidimensional e Justiça Social (Human Dignity, Multidimensional Poverty and Social Justice)"