THE MARIA DA PENHA LAW IN AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE: CONCEPTUAL CHALLENGES AND THE COMPLEXITY OF GENDER RELATIONS

Abstract

This study presents a critical analysis of Law No. 11.340/2006 — known as the Maria da Penha Law — from an interdisciplinary perspective, taking into account the complexity of gender relations and the need for legal interpretation that engages with other areas of knowledge. The research adopts a qualitative, reflective, and exploratory approach, based on the premise that key concepts in the law, such as violence, gender, woman, family, and domestic, cannot be fully understood solely through legal reasoning. These concepts require articulation with sociology, psychology, philosophy, and political science. The objective is to demonstrate that a strictly unidimensional application of the law undermines its effectiveness and weakens its transformative potential. The findings show that interdisciplinarity must be treated as content, method, and a space for the production of legal knowledge, enabling a shift away from rigid formalism toward a more plural, sensitive, and context-aware interpretation. It is concluded that to effectively confront the multiple forms of violence against women, a new interpretative paradigm is needed—one that embraces dialogue with social realities. As a normative microsystem, the Maria da Penha Law only fulfills its protective and transformative mission when applied through a critical, contextualized lens, committed to human dignity and the overcoming of gender inequalities.