Homologies between the organization of space, relationship between colleagues, with clients and with the law in a police station for women

Abstract

This paper, grounded in the ethnographic study of a Women’s Police Station in Porto Alegre (2004-2006), proposes to analyze the way police agents view their work. First, we consider the notions that underwrite the political project that gave rise to the women’s police stations and the nuances involved when putting these notions into practice. Subsequently, we correlate the diverse elements that compose this universe – spatial organization, proximity with the clients and their demands, prestige of rank and function, and notions of law – developing the argument that there exists an internal hierarchy transposed onto the spatial organization as well as into the process of constructing juridical categories in the field of women’s rights. Key words: Antropology of law; Practices of justice; Violence against women