The objective of this research was to know the wives of a group of convicted men, serving their time partially at home, and to identify the discriminations they had to go through, including those of gender. We searched to identify the possible labeling for having a convicted relative and the strategies of resistance that these women use in everyday life. The research method is qualitative and information was obtained by means of participation-observation and focal groups with the wives of convicts in a prison facility in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, RS, in a semi-open regime. The wives of convicts submit themselves to situations of control, based on the systems of class and gender domination. From our analysis, the labeling in relation to this social group was found in-between the lines, in other words, implied meanings appeared in their statements. However, the women actively resist to violence, seeking support in family and neighborhood networks. The precariousness of social supporting networks and the lack of information and access to the job market contribute to the marginalizing of the convict and his family, clearly denoting the importance of studies that seek to integrate this social group.
violence; crime; gender