Women - victims of violence

Introduction. Millions of couples all over the world are affected by conjugal violence. In an attempt at controlling and reducing this violence, special police units were set up in Brazil to attend to women who were victims of violence. This study describes the functioning of a Women's Police Unit, the kind of incidents that occur, and also analyzes the orientation given to the cases reported. Method. 157 cases of aggression committed by husbands and registered at the Women's Police Unit, Piracicaba, Sao Paulo were studied. All the information was obtained from cases registered between September and November 1997. Results. During the period studied, 89% of the cases registered involved young couples. The aggression registered was: physical violence with body lesions (the highest) - 64%, followed by threats of death - 22%. However, only 5% of the women were going to prosecute the aggressors. Conclusion. Although the women's police units are still deficient in preventing new aggressions, they act as screening units with regard to social, psychological and family problems and they are also slowly making women more aware of their rights.