Visible and invisible marks: facial injuries suffered by women as the result of acts of domestic violence.

This article focuses on female facial injuries caused by domestic partners in the light of the cultural assumption that the face is the most valued area of the human body. Through a quantitative/qualitative approach, the study aimed to estimate the prevalence of lesions on the face, head and neck of women abused by their partners. The intention is to comprehend the significance, from the victim's standpoint, of the marks originated in the violent episode and investigate issues concerning healthcare in the treatment of injuries. Statistical data were obtained from reports of the Special Police Department for Women in Salvador, Bahia, and the qualitative phase of research consisted of interviews with women who filed such reports. The results showed that, in 63.2% of studied cases, there were injuries to the face and/or head and/or neck of battered women. Speech analysis revealed that facial injuries, especially permanent ones, tend to result in feelings of low self-esteem, shame and humiliation in the victim, causing severe psychological distress. It was revealed that healthcare was limited to the physical aspects of victimization, without the perception of domestic violence as a health problem and the consequent lack of referral of patients to the centers for women in situations of violence.

Marcas visíveis e invisíveis: danos ao rosto feminino em episódios de violência conjugal / Visible and invisible marks: facial injuries suffered by women as the result of acts of domestic violence

ResumoEste artigo aborda os danos ao rosto feminino provocados por parceiro íntimo à luz do pressuposto cultural da face como locus corporal privilegiado e de alto valor simbólico. Com aporte quanti-qualitativo, o estudo objetivou: estimar a prevalência de lesões na face, cabeça e pescoço de mulheres agredidas pelo parceiro; apreender os significados, na visão das vítimas, das marcas originárias da violência; e investigar questões acerca do cuidado em saúde no tratamento dos agravos. Os dados estatísticos foram obtidos em boletins de ocorrência da Delegacia Especial de Atendimento à Mulher de Salvador, Bahia, e a fase qualitativa da pesquisa constou de entrevistas com mulheres que recorreram à delegacia para denunciar o agressor. Estimou-se que, em 63,2% dos casos estudados, houve trauma na face e/ou cabeça e/ou pescoço da mulher agredida. A análise das falas revelou que os danos faciais, sobretudo os permanentes, tendem a produzir sentimentos de autodepreciação, humilhação e vergonha na vítima, gerando acentuado sofrimento psíquico. Ficou evidenciado que a atenção em saúde limitou-se aos aspectos físicos da vitimização, sem a percepção da violência conjugal como problema de saúde e consequente ausência de referenciamento das usuárias à rede de assistência à mulher em situação de violência.

AbstractThis article focuses on female facial injuries caused by domestic partners in the light of the cultural assumption that the face is the most valued area of the human body. Through a quantitative/qualitative approach, the study aimed to estimate the prevalence of lesions on the face, head and neck of women abused by their partners. The intention is to comprehend the significance, from the victim's standpoint, of the marks originated in the violent episode and investigate issues concerning healthcare in the treatment of injuries. Statistical data were obtained from reports of the Special Police Department for Women in Salvador, Bahia, and the qualitative phase of research consisted of interviews with women who filed such reports. The results showed that, in 63.2% of studied cases, there were injuries to the face and/or head and/or neck of battered women. Speech analysis revealed that facial injuries, especially permanent ones, tend to result in feelings of low self-esteem, shame and humiliation in the victim, causing severe psychological distress. It was revealed that healthcare was limited to the physical aspects of victimization, without the perception of domestic violence as a health problem and the consequent lack of referral of patients to the centers for women in situations of violence.

A face marcada: as múltiplas implicações da vitimização feminina nas relações amorosas / The marked face: the multiple implications of female victimization in loving relationships

O artigo analisa narrativas femininas sobre relações conjugais violentas, particularmente, casos nos quais ocorreram danos ao rosto da mulher agredida pelo parceiro. Foram objetivos da pesquisa: apreender os sentidos atribuídos pelas vítimas à violência vivenciada e identificar as implicações decorrentes da experiência vitimizadora. O estudo foi realizado a partir de entrevistas com mulheres usuárias de instituições públicas nas áreas da segurança pública, saúde, assistência psicossocial e educação. Elaborada sob a ótica da sociologia do corpo que reconhece a face como locus privilegiado, a análise evidenciou o caráter invasivo das agressões ao rosto feminino ao produzirem marcas físicas e emocionais que vão repercutir, a curto e longo prazo, na vida das mulheres. À luz da perspectiva feminista relacional, emergiram questões atinentes a ambos os cônjuges na produção do convívio violento, mediadas pelas construções sociais de gênero. Reverberações das agressões sobre o sentimento de identidade e da depreciação da autoimagem foram enfatizadas como geradoras de intenso sofrimento psíquico. Além disso, os resultados apontaram para limites no modelo de atenção biomédico, ainda predominante nos serviços de saúde, para lidar com a complexidade envolvida na vitimização conjugal feminina, bem como para a necessidade de articulação das várias áreas de atuação que tangenciam esse fenômeno...

This paper analyses female narratives about violent marital relationships, specifically, cases in which facial damages have occurred to women assaulted by an intimate partner. The research aimed to apprehend the meanings of the violence to the victims and also to identify the implications of victimizing experience. The study was conducted by interviews with women attending public institutions such as women police station, health unit, psychosocial support service and educational facility. The analysis, under the sociology of the body view, highlighted the pervasiveness of violent actions that target the female face due emotional and physical marks that will reverberate, in short and long term, in the lives of victimized women. In the light of relational feminist perspective, issues pertaining to both partners in the production of violent interaction have emerged, mediated by social gender constructs. Reverberations of the violent acts over the sense of identity and depreciation of self-image were emphasized as intense psychological suffering sources. The results also point to limits of biomedical model of care, still prevalent in health services, to deal with the complexity involved in marital female victimization and to the need of articulation among the various sectors that this phenomenon concerns...