Social representations of domestic violence against women and men in the rural settings

Objective: To understand the social representations of domestic violence in rural settings, from the perspective of women and men living within these contexts. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study, from the Social Representations theoretical-methodological perspective. The scenario was composed of two small municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, in which more than half of the population lives in the rural areas. The participants included 16 people living in the rural areas of these municipalities who were integrated into health groups organized by the rural Family Health Strategy (FHS). The inclusion criterion was living in the rural areas for at least five years, because time is a causal element for development of social representations. The exclusion criterion consisted of residing less than five years in the rural areas. In this study, data generation of projective technical data and semi-structured interviews were used. The data obtained in the workshop were analyzed using the theoretical-methodological reference of racial representations. Results: The analysis resulted in two thematic categories: social representations of domestic violence in the rural settings, anchored in unequal relationships between women and men; and, social representations of domestic violence in rural settings, grounded in family and generational relationships. Conclusion: Domestic violence in this context is a complex phenomenon that involves different generations that circulate within the private space, demanding many actions for care and coping.