Women from the Federation of Societies for the Care of Lepers and Defense Against Leprosy, 1926-1947

Abstract This paper studies the family profiles of women holding key decision-making positions in the Federação das Sociedades de Assistência aos Lázaros e Defesa Contra a Lepra in different parts of Brazil. Using prosopography as a research method and technique, information was collated on women who were closely involved in Brazil’s health policy concerning leprosy from the mid-1920s to the late 1940s. The research confirms the involvement of the women in the control and management of the country’s preventoria and suggests that the social and professional standing of the fathers and/or husbands of the women who ran the federation was an element that influenced their actions towards the disease.

摘要 本文以巴西境内不同地区的麻风病救助与防御协会联合会（Federação das Sociedades de Assistência aos Lázaros e Defesa Contra a Lepra）中担任核心决策职位的女性群体为研究对象，探析其家庭背景概况。研究采用群体传记研究法作为核心研究方法与技术手段，整理了1920年代中期至1940年代末期，深度参与巴西麻风病相关卫生政策工作的女性群体的相关资料。本研究证实了女性群体在该国麻风病防治所的管控与运营中发挥了参与作用，并指出，主持该联合会的女性，其父亲或丈夫的社会地位与职业层级，是影响其针对麻风病采取相关行动的重要影响因素之一。