Cláudia participated in a legal training course for family members of prisoners in Rio de Janeiro. She felt encouraged and enrolled in a social work degree. Cláudia’s case caught the attention of Késsia Gomes, one of the organizers of “Guerreiras pelo Desencarceramento”.
The project, carried out by Iser (Institute of Religious Studies), consists of offering legal and political training so that family members can know the rights of convicted persons and the rules of criminal procedure.
The project focuses on women, the majority sex in supporting and visiting prisoners: mothers, wives, daughters and sisters. Launched in 2022, “Guerreiras pelo Desencarceramento” operates in cycles throughout the interior of Rio and the capital.
“Contrary to what the State thinks, they are very interested, they always want to know more. They are super participatory, they ask questions, they do research, they come back to us with questions that, sometimes, we do not even know how to answer,” says Ane Rocha, another organizer.
Among adults, Rio’s prison system has 45,692 people and just over 28,000 places.
“We start by discussing what an arrest in flagrante delicto is and what the rights of the person are, what the inviolability of the home is, a fundamental subject for these people who are invaded in their homes. We use concrete cases and talk about everything from the police approach to the arrest, including the prison system and the rights of private persons, explains Késsia Gomes.
They also discover the function of each body: the role of the Public Defender’s Office, its possibilities and limits, as well as the role of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
“The meetings are monthly and in subsequent meetings we always have reports from people who say how they started to react and impose their rights, including collectively, because there are people who live on the fine line of violation. But we always value security,” says Késsia.
The current training is aimed at families of adolescents who respect socio-educational measures. In their case, families learn what is allowed and prohibited during approaches: adolescents cannot be handcuffed and those who are taken to the police station must be accompanied by guardianship advisors.
In 2024, 4,919 children and adolescents were apprehended on suspicion of criminal acts; 2,224 were in temporary hospitalization, 877 were inpatient and 1,279 were on day parole, according to internal state government data.
On Wednesday (10), the Rio Justice Court ordered the State to adopt a series of measures to correct what it considers to be rights violations in the main socio-educational center for children and adolescents, Dom Bosco, under the direction of Degase (General Department of Socio-educational Actions).
Technical reports highlight overcrowding, inadequate hygiene conditions, structural defects and a lack of mental health protocols. The judge requests the reduction of the number of adolescents to three per dwelling and the closure of certain units.
Three days before the decision, Sunday (7), 14 teenagers housed in the Dom Bosco socio-educational unit, on Ilha do Governador, had fled after a riot.
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