GENDER-BASED STALKING AND THE (IN)SUFFICIENCY OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESPONSE IN BRAZIL: RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AS A MECHANISM FOR PROTECTING WOMEN’S PSYCHOPHYSICAL INTEGRITY

Abstract

This article examines stalking as a form of gender-based violence that compromises women’s psychophysical integrity. It is grounded on the assumption that, although the criminalization of repeated harassment represents an important advancement in the Brazilian legal system, the state response remains predominantly oriented by a retributive criminal paradigm, revealing structural limitations in addressing this form of violence, particularly with regard to comprehensive victim protection and the reparation of harm. This is a qualitative study of an exploratory-analytical nature, adopting an interdisciplinary approach based on a review of national and international literature in the fields of Law, Criminology, and Psychology, as well as documentary analysis of secondary data from the Brazilian Public Security Forum and the Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security (2025). Data interpretation was conducted in light of critical criminology and personality rights theory, with emphasis on power relations and structural gender inequalities. From this perspective, the article examines stalking in its legal, social, and psychological dimensions, highlighting its impacts on the victim’s freedom, privacy, and autonomy, as well as its insertion within broader dynamics of gender-based domination. In this context, the (in)sufficiency of the traditional criminal paradigm is critically assessed, investigating the extent to which restorative justice can operate as a public justice policy capable of providing more adequate responses to the protection of women’s psychophysical integrity, considering the complexity of the existential harms produced and the power asymmetries inherent in gender-based stalking. The study concludes that restorative justice may constitute a relevant mechanism for addressing gender-based stalking by promoting victim-centered approaches, offender accountability, and harm reparation. However, its implementation requires strict safeguards, particularly in light of gendered power asymmetries, in order to prevent revictimization and the reproduction of domination dynamics.