A Contrasting Appropriation to the Reform of Juvenile Justice in Rio de Janeiro. Between Care and Masculine Professional Conceptions

In Brazil, juvenile detention centers are regulated by international legal standards aiming to implement policies that uphold human rights and educational practices. To that end, social workers and prison officers, who are both “ordinary civil servants” working in juvenile detention educational facilities, are under scrutiny as they are responsible for making sure these principles are respected. A fieldwork study was conducted in two youth detention centers in Rio de Janeiro, in close contact with both professional groups. The research shows that there is a gap between the educational standards relating to juvenile justice norms and the practical standards of those involved on the ground. Caught in a system of opposition due to their divergent conceptions of work, they tend to behave in either a security-oriented or bureaucratic way, which show contrasting appropriations of the reform of juvenile justice, in a toughening security context in Brazil.