Prevalência e fatores associados à violência no ambiente de trabalho em agentes de segurança penitenciária do sexo feminino no Brasil

Marcelo José Monteiro Ferreira, Raimunda Hermelinda Maia Macena, Rosa Maria Salani Mota, Roberto da Justa Pires, Ageo Mário Cândido da Silva, Luiza Jane Eyre Sousa Vieira, Bernard Carl Kendall, Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo Kerr

This article aims to estimate the prevalence and violence-associated factors in the work environment of female correctional officers in Brazil. A cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted in 15 female correctional facilities in Brazil's five regions. Pearson's chi-square test was performed. The Odds Ratio and Confidence Intervals were estimated for factors that showed a significant association or were confounding factors. The prevalence of having experienced at least one violent occurrence during professional duty as an officer was 28.4%. An interesting factor is fact that agents themselves are identified as the main suspects of robbery (74.6%), moral violence (68.1%) and sexual harassment (66.8%) against their co-workers. Working in more than one correctional facility increased the chance of suffering from violence (OR = 3.23; CI = 1.51 - 6.9). The main associated factors are: working in temporary detention centers, age of admission to the prison system and low social support among co-workers. Violence in the Brazilian prison environment is of great magnitude and considered a complex phenomenon with multiple causes. To combat this, it is necessary to adopt intersectoral actions, capable of intervening both in the prison environment and in society.