The impact of violence on women’s health. The present as a reflection of the past: A qualitative study

Abstract

The objective of the study is to analyze the impact of violence on women’s health and the feelings generated during the period of exposure to violence. This is a qualitative study with an interpretative phenomenological design in which 16 women participated—4 through interviews and 12 through stories. The data obtained were analyzed using the Colaizzi approach. The results were structured into 3 themes according to how the women interpreted their experiences. The themes were physical consequences: visible traces; psychological consequences: stormy days and sunny days; and social consequences: from loneliness to a new world. In conclusion, the women in this study considered all those (very diverse) physical pathologies to be important. They encompassed a series of psychological disorders that lasted over time, causing considerable suffering and complicating the participants’ ability to relate to the rest of society, especially men. Similarly, the participants identified a series of positive consequences when they left the traumatic situation empowered after overcoming gender-based violence.