Quality of life and risk of feminicide in women victims of intimate partner violence in Campinas

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Violence against women is a public health problem with severe consequences. Most women in situations of domestic violence are emotionally involved and/or economically dependent of their intimate partners contributing to the perpetuation and acceptance of violence. Objectives 1) To characterize the women who join the Reference and Support Center for Women (Ceamo) in Campinas, Southeast Brazil. 2) To measure the quality of life in women victims of intimate partner violence 3) To determine the risk of feminicide. Methods The Ceamo is a public specialized service from the mayor of Campinas, it provides psychological, social and legal guidance to women in situations of gender violence. Inclusion criteria: Women attending Ceamo services, speaking Portuguese, age ≥18 years old and having experienced intimate partner violence. Measure instruments: Danger assessment Scale and WHOQOL-BREF. Results During the 11 months of the study, 78 new users were recruited. Average age 38.3 years old, mostly married/stable union, most of them with children (88%). 64% of women do not work and 36% live with the abusive partner. Prevalent types of violence suffered during by the victims in the last year were psychological n = 76, physical n = 62, moral n = 54 and sexual n = 23. The domain most affected in the assessment of quality of life was the environment (average 42% /100%) and psychological domain (42%/100%). 49% of women were classified with increased risk, 22% with severe risk and 1% with extreme risk of femicide. The questions with the most positive answers were those related to believing that the partner can kill her (77%), jealous of the partner (76%) and controlling behavior (73%), being followed/spied by the partner (67%) and threat death (65%). Conclusions The service in general receive very vulnerable women with low perception of their own quality of life, precarious material conditions and high risk of femicide. Key messages The women in domestic violence situation attended by the Ceamo service are at high risk of femicide. Service users have very low perception of their quality of life and poor social conditions.