A Comparative Study of the Work of Professional Caregivers of Battered Women

Abstract

The care service for women victims of violence constitutes a risk space for the manifestation of burnout syndrome and secondary post-traumatic stress disorder caused by listening to traumatic experiences. Therefore, this article aims to present a comparative picture of cross-cultural research carried out in Brazil and Spain with 32 subjects. The objectives are: to describe the work conditions, investigate the experience of attending to female victims of violence, and observe the self-care practices the professional group carried out at the personal, professional, collective, and institutional levels. The analysis of data from the Brazilian context was performed with Iramuteq through the descending hierarchical classification, which resulted in five classes, namely: assistance to women victims of violence; conflicts, violence, and professional activity; authors of harassment practices and working conditions; self-care personnel; managing obstacles in the work environment. The results collected from the Spanish professionals were also subjected to the same data analysis, resulting in five classes: trajectory, professional performance and working conditions; assistance to women victims of violence and forms of self-care; complaints about conflict and violence; personal self-care; forms of harassment and conflict. The elaboration that confronted the categories of the two surveys identified similarities regarding the subjective experience and distancing in the self-care characteristics undertaken by Brazilian and Spanish professionals. This study proposes to reflect on the institutional dynamics of these environments.