Marina da Silva Pereira

The project "Legacies of Slavery: Challenges and Resistance in Obstetric Care for Afro-Brazilian Women" seeks to analyze, from a historical-critical perspective, how the legacies of slavery continue to shape inequalities in access to and the quality of obstetric care provided to Black women in Brazil. The starting point is the understanding that slavery is not merely a distant past, but a systemic conditioning factor reproduced through institutional practices, medical discourses, and public policies that often neglect the specific needs of Afro-descendant populations.

The research aims to identify how institutional racism manifests itself within healthcare services, particularly in prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum assistance. Key indicators such as maternal mortality rates, obstetric violence, and unequal access will be examined alongside empirical narratives of Black women’s experiences in the healthcare system. At the same time, the project is committed to mapping strategies of resistance: community-based care practices, initiatives led by civil society organizations, Black women’s movements, and public policies that seek to challenge these structural inequalities.

Methodologically, the study adopts an inductive approach, combining interdisciplinary bibliographic review (Law, Sociology, Public Health) with empirical research based on semi-structured interviews with Black women who have engaged with the healthcare system. The theoretical framework draws on the concept of Fraternal Law developed by Eligio Resta, in dialogue with antiracist contributions from authors such as Sueli Carneiro and Djamila Ribeiro. This allows for a reinterpretation of care practices through a lens of solidarity and recognition.

The central objective is to propose a critical reading of obstetric care in Brazil that highlights both mechanisms of exclusion and forms of resistance, thereby contributing to the development of more equitable and fraternal public policies capable of confronting structural racism in healthcare. 

2025–2027
Master's in Law, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

2018–2025
Bachelor of Law, Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL), Pelotas, RS, Brazil

2025
Member of the UFRGS Antiracism Research Group

2025
Member of the Coordination Committee of the Preparatory Program for Admission to the UFRGS Graduate Program

2025
Legal Resident at the Public Treasury Prosecutor’s Office, Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Sul