Violencia institucional y selectividad penal en mujeres privadas de la libertad en Quintana Roo

This article analyzes the manifestations of institutional violence and gender inequality among women deprived of their liberty at State Penitentiary Center No. 1 in Chetumal, Quintana Roo. Using a quantitative approach with a descriptive and comparative scope, official statistical data and empirical evidence obtained through a questionnaire administered to the entire female population incarcerated at the center (n=35) are employed, following a census design. The results show that the women deprived of liberty present several conditions of socioeconomic vulnerability and a comparatively high presence of drug-related offenses. In addition, 28 of the 35 participants (80.0%) reported that, during detention, a public official violated at least one individual guarantee. In contrast, sex differences among persons without a sentence are small, and experiences reported within the prison are heterogeneous. The analysis suggests the need to examine female incarceration through the relationship between social inequality, gender, and institutional action, without assuming causal relationships that the descriptive design cannot demonstrate. The article contributes to criminological literature by providing empirical evidence from a little-explored local context and problematizing the role of prison as a mechanism of social control over vulnerable populations.