Gender in criminal law:

Feminist critique of the punitive illusion by Lucía Núñez

Abstract

In our country there is a strong debate on the criminalization of certain offenses related to women's bodies and sexuality, mainly abortion and femicide. This debate responds, on the one hand, to gender ideology and, on the other hand, to the current problems of inequality between men and women. Although there has been a constant struggle on the part of various feminist groups -in the case of femicide-, it is focused on increasing the penalty for those who commit this crime. But is punitive punishment the solution to inequality between men and women? In the book El género en la ley penal: Crítica feminista de la ilusión punitiva Lucía Núñez presents us with an unpublished research on the historical role of Mexican criminal law in the production and reproduction of this inequality. In comparison with other research, whose focus is directed at the causes of crime, this work focuses on the existence of crime and the elements that compose it. Two main theoretical tools are used: the gender category and the offender category. From this, the author develops the concept of gender subjectivation coordinates, through which she explains the expressions and reproductions of gender ideology in criminal law.