A educação em e para os direitos humanos como prática emancipatória da defensoria pública em defesa dos grupos vulnerabilizados

Abstract

The research focuses on the study of education in and for human rights as an emancipatory practice of the Public Defender's Office in defense of vulnerable groups. Thus, the present work asks: How could the Public Defender's Office help vulnerable groups to have access to an emancipatory education in and for human rights? The choice of this theme is justified by the importance of promoting an emancipatory education in and for human rights for social groups that are on the margins of society. From a dialogue between them and public institutions, listening to their perceptions and their life stories, it is possible to train these individuals, through an education in and for human rights, so that they can identify the problems recurrent in their communities, and what rights and solutions are foreseen, helping in their social emancipation and in the construction and exercise of their citizenship. The aim of this research is to present to the scientific community how an "ecology of knowledge" is possible in contemporary society, and that the proposed paradigm shift would influence, in a grandiose way, in the academic and legal spheres. Therefore, the work was divided into three chapters. First, the history of the right to free legal assistance in Brazil and of the Public Defender's Office is presented. Afterwards, the normative changes implemented from the Federal Constitution of 1988 are brought, which considerably changed the profile of the defense action, which also started to dedicate itself to collective protection and the promotion of human rights, including the role of education in rights. In the second chapter, we analyze the history and concept of education in and for human rights, the general aspects and characteristics of human rights education plans, and then, education in and for human rights as an institutional function of Public Defender's Office, as it is part of the group of professionals in the justice systems. In the last chapter, we seek to understand how education in and for human rights, with the help of the Public Defender's Office, can become an emancipatory practice for vulnerable groups. It is proposed to develop the present study through a theoretical-bibliographic research, that is, from the examination of theoretical references, proposing the description and understanding of the analyzed phenomenon, expanding the perspective about it, and using as a theoretical and methodological basis the “sociology of absences”, by Boaventura de Sousa Santos, for the development of the exposed ideas. In the end, it is concluded that the Public Defender's Office, based on its new identity profile, through the development of human rights education activities and local practices that contribute to the strengthening of community bonds, can help in the development of an emancipatory education in and for human rights for vulnerable groups