“Liberdade, força e dar a volta por cima”: um estudo de caso sobre o Projeto Lugar de Fala na Comunidade de Atendimento Socioeducativo Feminina do Estado da Bahia

Abstract

This dissertation analyzed the development of the Projeto Lugar de Fala (Locus of Speech), implemented at the Comunidade de Atendimento Socioeducativo (CASE - Social-educational Service Community) for females of Salvador, as a potential strategy to guarantee listening and the right to participation for adolescents undergoing socio-educational internment measures. Starting from the issue of the historical invisibility of marginalized groups, especially Black and poor girls who constitute the majority profile of the Brazilian and Bahian socio-educational system, and anchored in the theoretical contributions of Black feminism and decolonial thought, this research sought to understand how the absence of a locus of speech manifests in the daily lives of those deprived of liberty and in the documents that formalize the adolescents' trajectories, such as the Plano Individual de Atendimento (PIA - Service Individual Plan) and the Relatório de Avaliação da Medida (RAM - Measure Evaluation Report). Through a case study, using participant observation and document analysis, the research investigated the implementation of the Projeto Lugar de Fala at CASE Feminina between September 2019 and January 2020. It was found that, despite legal provisions, adolescents do not actively and effectively participate in the elaboration of the PIA and RAM, revealing a predominantly bureaucratic and institution-centered process that perpetuates silencing and the violation of rights. The analysis of the Projeto Lugar de Fala experience highlighted the potential for creating alternative spaces for listening and expression, while its limitations pointed out the institutional challenges for integrating youth voices into formal processes. It is concluded that the concept of locus of speech, grounded in Black feminism and decolonial thought and linked to the right to participation, constitutes a fundamental strategy to promote qualified listening in socio-education. Based on the findings, the work proposes elements for a methodology that, seeking to overcome the identified gap and based on institutionalization, the inclusion of diverse forms of expression (beyond writing), and the active participation of adolescents in all stages, can guarantee the effective integration of their voices in the execution of the measure and in the construction of the central documents.