GENDER PERSPECTIVE IN THE BRAZILIAN AND CANADIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM

Abstract

 This article analyzes the mechanisms for in­corporating a gender perspective into the jus­tice systems of Brazil and Canada. Drawing on a theoretical framework that articulates Luhmann’s Social Systems Theory, intersec­tional feminist critique, and feminist legal methodologies, the study investigates how ex­ternal factors (social movements) and internal factors (autopoiesis, institutional permeabil­ity, legal culture) explain different degrees of adoption of gender lenses within the justice system. The comparative study reveals that, while in Canada the presence of constitu­tional normative instruments in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the work of feminist legal associations create favorable conditions for incorporation, tensions persist, such as the assimilation of feminist perspectives into masculinized institutions and the application of gender lenses in technical areas such as eco­nomic law. In Brazil, we observe that change occurs through normative protocols and a cultural transformation within the judiciary, with recent data from the CNJ’s Sentencing Database revealing that application remains concentrated in State Courts and in criminal matters. We conclude that the effective incor­poration of gender lenses requires not only normative innovation but also an epistemic and practical transformation within the le­gal system, mediated by feminist strategies of translation and systemic irritation.

KEYWORDS: Gende. Systems Theory. Femi­nist Legal Theory. Comparative Analysis.