“Policiou, saneou, moralizou”: as práticas de controle da prostituição nas primeiras décadas republicanas (1896-1920)

Abstract

This dissertation aims to follow the discussions on the issue of prostitution in the city of Rio de Janeiro from 1896 to 1920. The aim is to seek and understand the solutions found by parliamentarians to solve the problem of harlotry, as well as to analyze the policelegislative relations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sources referring to the legislative were used as the annals of the sessions of the Municipal Council of Rio de Janeiro, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The annual reports of Rio de Janeiro Police Chiefs were also used. Through the analysis of these documents, we conclude that the authorities were pursuing the harlotry, less concerned with the issue of containing syphilis or immorality than with the criminalization of poverty and the curtailment of the popular classes.