Women as drug runners and the possibility of applying privileged trafficking: criminology and law debates

Abstract

Female incarceration in Brazil has had a significant increase in the last decades, with the main crime committed by these women being drug trafficking. This article will address the issue that most of these women are not actually drug traffickers but rather drug "mules." Therefore, if the necessary legal requirements are met, they are eligible for the application of the privileged trafficking reduction. This article will demonstrate the primary need to observe the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court through Binding Precedents and the Superior Court of Justice. To do so, the work deals firstly with the Brazilian situation of the female prison system. Afterwards, the need for protection of women in this system is studied and, finally, the presentation of the New Binding Precedent and the consequent need for observation and practical application by the Courts are studied. It is concluded that mules still do not have the necessary treatment for their vulnerabilities, despite the importance of the New Binding Precedent.