DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND ITS IMPACT ON CHILDREN'S SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

Abstract

"This research addressed the issue of domestic violence investigating whether and how it affects the school performance of the child who witnesses episodes of violence against the mother in the home. Personal characteristics and other environments in which these children and adolescents are inserted in, such as family, school and community interact with each other and can influence their school performance. Because the school is the second most common space for children, it is in it where family environment is expressed. The main objective of this study was to analyze whether and how domestic violence experienced by children affects their school performance. The data were collected throughout documentary research, one analyzing the information recorded in the files of the Reference and Service Center for Women (CRAM in Portuguese) and the Municipal Education Secretariat (SME). Records were selected from 20 children regularly enrolled in elementary public schools, whose mothers sought the services of CRAM. The dependent variable was school grades, which were analyzed according to a repeated measures design: during the occurrence of domestic violence episodes and after these episodes have ceased. Analyzes were also conducted with the aim of verifying possible effects of other variables, such as school attendance, family socioeconomic status and mothers education level. The results showed that the students had lower school performance after the end of the episodes of violence. No effects of other variables were observed. Factors related to the phenomenon are discussed as possible causes: separation from the father, change of address, custody’s change and others. Considering that the casuistry of this study was composed of students from low-income families, the results point to a kind of ""Matthew effect"", that is, a relationship between violence, poverty and ignorance in which everyone feeds each other forming a cycle quite hard to break. Therefore, it is necessary that public policies be formulated in the scope of education so that students who experience domestic violence receive specialized attention aiming at realizing their learning potential."