Abuse of alcohol and drugs and violence against women: experience reports

This study aimed to analyze the interface between the abuse of alcohol and other drugs by companions and the experience of women who has denounced violence situations. It is a qualitative research guided by the thematic content analysis, with interviews conducted in March and April 2010, with thirteen women who underwent the record of violence in a Police Station for Women and Police Emergency Department of a city in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It was observed that, in a world surrounded by fights, humiliation, aggression, submission and suffering, the companion's abuse of alcohol and drugs enhanced the violence experienced by the interviewed women. Besides seeking to qualify the mental health care of women in the context of violence, since this condition substantially affects their health, as well as all other dimensions, it appears to be essential to articulate attention to women in situations of violence with actions of prevention of alcohol and / or other drugs by their companions.