Women's Shelter, a prison in reverse: when the protection of victims imprisons them

This article aimed to know a Shelter for women in situations of intimate partner violence at imminent risk of death located in the state of Rio de Janeiro from the perception of its professionals. To this end, this qualitative research adopted semi-structured interviews with seven professionals directly involved with the care and assistance to the Shelter's user population. The findings were interpreted through Bardin's thematic content analysis. Moreover, the profile of the women and children sheltered in 2021 was drawn based on the data provided by the institution. In conceptual terms, this work focused on intersectional feminist theoretical references. Among the results, we argue that the shelter is permeated by contradictions, from its normative idealizations to institutional practices: on the one hand, the shelter represents the possibility of salvation, that is, of interrupting the escalation of violence and, therefore, preventing femicide. However, on the other hand, it appears as an upside-down prison, which "incarcerates" the victims. We highlight the importance of thinking about new ways to ensure protection for women who need this shelter.