The objective of this study is to verify the social representations of women who suffer or have suffered some kind of violence from their partners, trying to considerate the subjectivity of this phenomenon, and also identify the main harms in the social, psychological and occupational spheres of these women. Twelve participants have answered to semi structured interviews, and a analysis of Bardin (2002) contents were made based in Theory of Social Representation of Moscovici. As results, it was observed that most cases are counted in forms of psychological violence -which cause emotional suffering in long term and bring serious damages in aspects of self-development and psychological health of the victims. It was also noticed that the cycle of violence is fed by tolerance and self-blame that the misunderstood of their situation implicate. It is proposed further studies in this area with the purpose to understand better the phenomenon of violence against women.
domestic violence; women; social representations
