Name: LUANA SANTOS DE JESUS
Publication date: 16/12/2025
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| FABIOLA XAVIER LEAL | Presidente |
| LUCIANA BARBOSA MUSSE | Examinador Externo |
| MIRIAN CATIA VIEIRA BASILIO DENADAI | Examinador Interno |
Summary: This dissertation aims to analyze judicial processes involving women who use alcohol and other drugs that were processed by the Espírito Santo State Department of Health between 2014 and 2024, seeking to problematize the justifications and measures
adopted considering issues of class, race/ethnicity, and gender. Furthermore, it aimed to identify the profile of these women targeted for compulsory admission, seeking to understand whether the judiciary’s justification contains elements reflecting class,
race/ethnicity, and gender in the decision to order hospitalization; and to problematize the relationship between women, drugs, and the judicialization of mental health, reflecting on judicial measures of compulsory hospitalization in these cases.
Methodologically, data collection was carried out through documentary research, based on primary documents—cases that required compulsory admission, forwarded by the Judiciary to the State Department of Health between 2014 and 2024. The
temporal scope was defined due to the beginning of the digitization of these cases. A sample of 286 cases was analyzed. Categorical Content Analysis was used for data analysis, and ethical procedures were ensured. The data revealed that most admitted women are between the ages of 30 and 39 years old (29%), reside in the state’s Metropolitan Health Region (36.7%), and had their admission requested mostly by family members (69.9%). Among these family members, the majority were female
(75%). The judges’ justifications for the admission, in most cases (40.2%), emphasized the preservation of life, family, and third parties, reinforcing the idea of the dangerousness of people who use drugs. The most commonly used substance among
women was alcohol (37.8%), followed by crack (27.1%). The results indicate that, although the RP Law restricts the use of compulsory admission, it is widely applied to remove women from social life. Thus, the findings point to the increasing judicialization for access to mental health services, highlighting the need to strengthen Mental Health Policy and defend the principles of the Psychiatric Reform, as well as to promote social control and greater monitoring of compulsory admissions in the state of Espírito Santo.
