Malos tratos en las mujeres:Aspectos que influyen en sus actuaciones

Abstract

Objectives: To identify the factors that influence the decisions that battered women make. To analyze how these factors determinate the behaviour of the women who suffer from ill-treatment. To set how these factors influence on the relations that battered women establish with the sanitary professionals who attend to them. Methodology: The study population are battered women who live in Madrid province and who are being attended in the Municipal Points of the Regional Observatory against the Gender Violence. The information was collected by performing focus groups and depth interviews. Outcomes: There are several factors which influence on the decisions that battered women make, like the existence or not of children they have to take care of, the economic dependence and the ignorance of the woman, in some cases, of the existence of this ill-treatment, but over all, we could even say beyond all these, there is one that is the most important, common and we could say it is the main axis that determine their behaviour. This factor is fear. Fear may be considered as a constant and main axis on these women’s life, that influence on the relations that they establish and in the way they do it. Discussion: As sanitary professionals who attend these women we may be aware of the psychological situation they are, and how fear determinate them to make decisions in one way or the other, to be able to identify if the woman is asking us for help when she comes to us, because in many occasions she is not able or does not want to say it openly.