The Legislative Choice for an Extra-Criminal Policy and the Legal Nature of Protective Measures under the Maria da Penha Law

Abstract

This article examines the protective measures established by Law No. 11,340/2006 (Maria da Penha Law) from an interdisciplinary perspective encompassing doctrinal, criminological, and criminal policy approaches, with the aim of clarifying issues arising from their implementation; the research demonstrates that such measures constitute sui generis mechanisms whose legal nature differs from both civil and criminal precautionary proceedings; these measures reflect a legislative choice for an extra-criminal policy and are closely linked to the gender-based paradigm that explains violence against women as incorporated into the Maria da Penha Law; criminal intervention, in turn, plays a complementary role in the broader objective of protecting women victims.