Psychological violence against women in police reports in the state of Alagoas, Brazil

Background:  Violence against women is a public health problem.

Objective:  To identify and analyze how psychological violence appears in the reports of military police who treated women victims of domestic violence in the state of Alagoas during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

Method:  This was a documentary research, in which the IRaMuTeQ software was used for data analysis.

Results:  The difficulty of the military police team is in identifying and recognizing psychological violence as violence that can be reported and framed by the Maria da Penha Law. The action of the military police was marked by the notion that physical violence is the only legitimate form of violence against women.

Conclusion:  Psychological violence needs to be addressed as a serious public health problem, since it brings consequences for women's physical and emotional health. It is essential that professionals identify and act appropriately in cases of psychological violence.

Keywords:
violence against women; domestic violence; emergency medical dispatcher