The content of 23 judicial decisions reached between 2004 and 2008, in cases of trafficking women for prostitution (article 231 of the Penal Code) is analysed in the theoretical context of the Feminist Critical Criminology to verify if the judges evaluate the facts in the gender perspective, so that the discrimination and violence against women is not reinforced. The analysis reveals ambiguous positions between respect for sexual freedom/ human dignity and the protection of public morality, as well the overvictimization of women, which calls into question the effectiveness of the penal law enforcement in the prevention of trafficking.
Trafficking in Women; Prostitution; Criminalization; Judicial Decision; Gender