The objective of this essay is to reflect on domestic violence, with a special focus on psychological violence, which develops as a silent process that progresses without being identified, leaving its scars on all those involved. Because of its characteristics, psychological violence happens inside families and usually evolves and manifests itself in the form of physical violence. Therefore, it is necessary to emphasize the importance of identifying subtle violence when it is still in its embryonic phase. However, one of the great problems that has been pointed out relates to the difficulty in identifying domestic psychological violence, because it is disguised in attitudes that are apparently not related to the concept of violence.KEY WORDS: domestic violence. violence against woman. Public Health. Psychology. Trata-se de reflexão sobre a violência doméstica, com especial enfoque na violência psicológica. Esta se desenvolve como um processo silencioso, que progride sem ser identificado, deixando marcas em todos os envolvidos. Pela sua característica, a violência psicológica no interior da família, geralmente, evolui e eclode na forma da violência física. Com base neste entendimento destaca-se a importância de identificar as violências sutis que ainda se encontram em estágio embrionário. No entanto, aponta-se como um grande problema a dificuldade na identificação da violência psicológica doméstica, em razão de esta aparecer diluída em atitudes aparentemente não relacionadas ao conceito de violência. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: violência doméstica. violência contra a mulher. Saúde Pública. Psicologia. * Adaptado a partir de Silva, 2005.

Sexual violence against women is a form of gender violence and both a severe human rights violation and public health problem. This ecological, descriptive, and temporal series study aims to analyze sexual violence against pre-adolescent, adolescent, and adult females in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, based on data from the Information System for Notifiable Diseases, in order to describe the characteristics of cases of sexual violence perpetrated against women, reported by health professionals from 2008 a 2013. A total of 15,508 cases of violence were reported, including 2,010 cases of sexual violence (12.9%). Cases of violence totaled 950 reports in the 10 to 14 year bracket (47.3%), 450 in the 15 to 19 year bracket (22.4%), and 610 (30.3%) in women 20 years or older (adults). Adolescent females suffered violence by a single aggressor, at home, at night, with vaginal penetration, and with greater tendency to repeated assault and pregnancy as a result. For females 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 years of age, the aggressors were unknown in 32.9% and 33.1% of the reports, respectively. Adult women were sexually assaulted either at home or on public byways, at night or in the early morning hours, by a single aggressor, with vaginal penetration in more than half of the cases, with more physical injuries, and with more subsequent suicide attempts. The information should contribute to awareness-raising of policymakers, health professionals, researchers, and health field professors concerning the importance of reporting violence in order to help develop interventions to prevent such violence against women.

Este artigo analisa a dinâmica da violência doméstica a partir do discurso da mulher agredida e do parceiro autor da agressão. Foi elaborado a partir de uma pesquisa descritivo-exploratória com abordagem qualitativa, entre outubro de 2006 e janeiro de 2007, com trinta casais cujas mulheres haviam registrado na Delegacia da Mulher de Florianópolis (Santa Catarina) duas ou mais queixas por agressão contra o parceiro. Em comparação com as mulheres, os homens tenderam a negar a ocorrência e a diminuir a frequência das agressões. Os motivos das agressões mais apontados como interferentes na dinâmica do casal foram o ciú-me, o homem ser contrariado, a ingestão de álcool e a suspeita de traição. O estudo revela as características das agressões percebidas pelos membros do casal e a forma de eles entenderem os fatores que repercutem na dinâmica de violência doméstica, não atribuindo somente à mulher o papel de porta-voz. Palavras-chave: Violência doméstica; Violência contra a mulher; Maus-tratos conjugais.

Objective: Social isolation is currently identified as the best way to prevent the infection by the new coronavirus. However, for some social groups, such as children and adolescents, this measure carries a contradiction: the home, which should be the safest place for them, is also a frequent environment of a sad aggravation: domestic violence. This study aims to evaluate the notifications of interpersonal/self-inflicted violence available in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases in the State of Santa Catarina (southern Brazil), for the juvenile age group, before and during the new coronavirus pandemics. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive study of violence against children and adolescents (from 0 to 19 years) notified by health professionals by completing and entering the occurrence in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases of the State of Santa Catarina in 11 weeks in which the social isolation measure was instituted as mandatory, comparing with the same period before this measure. Results: During the study period, 136 municipalities in Santa Catarina made 1,851 notifications. There was a decrease of 55.3% of them in the isolation period, and the difficulties encountered in seeking protection and assistance institutions were listed. Conclusions: The society needs to be aware of possible cases of violence in the children and adolescent population. It is important to provide accessible, effective, and safe ways for complaints and notifications, as well as a quick response to the cases, aiming at protecting victims and minimizing damages to prevent the perpetuation of the violence.

the results presented point out the usefulness of Sinan as a source of information for the surveillance of sexual violence against women and for planning actions to tackle this type of aggression.