O trágico: experiência e conceito

O conceito do trágico está de algum modo liga do à violência. O presente estudo pretende estabelecer a relação essencial vigente entre violência institucional e situação trágica, a situação trágica sendo ao mesmo tempo conseqüência e denúncia da violência institucional. Assim entendido, o trágico é primeiramen te expresso sob forma poética, na arte dramática denominada precisamente tragédia; em seguida , por derivação, sob forma conceitual, na análise da própria realidade histórica. A análise da história atual poderá revelar todo o potencial trágico acumulado na violência do poder.

Violence against women in Ethiopia

Investigating the experience of violence against women and exploring women's coping strategies is a crucial component of re-tailoring the provision of services for victims/survivors. This article explores violence against women in the context of culture, theory of fear of violence and literature on spaces perceived to be 'safe' or 'dangerous' by women victims/survivors of violence in Ethiopia. To collect the relevant data, we conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with Ethiopian women who are victims/survivors of violence and three interviews with gender experts in Ethiopia. Our group of women suffer in 'silence' and confide only in friends and relatives. They did not resort to institutional support due to lack of awareness and general societal disapproval of such measures. This contrasts with claims by experts that the needs of these women are addressed using an institutional approach. Culture, migration status and lack of negotiating power in places of work are key factors when considering violence. The majority of the respondents in this study occupy both public and private spaces such as bars and homes and have experienced violence in those spaces. The social relations and subsequent offences they endured do not make spaces such as these safe. Education of both sexes, creation of awareness, sustainable resource allocation to support victims/survivors, ratification of the Maputo protocol and effective law enforcement institutions are some of the practical strategies we propose to mitigate the incidence of violence in Ethiopia. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Dna Extraction From Filter-paper Spots Of Vaginal Samples Collected After Sexual Violence.

To detect the presence of male DNA in vaginal samples collected from survivors of sexual violence and stored on filter paper. A pilot study was conducted to evaluate 10 vaginal samples spotted on sterile filter paper: 6 collected at random in April 2009 and 4 in October 2010. Time between sexual assault and sample collection was 4-48hours. After drying at room temperature, the samples were placed in a sterile envelope and stored for 2-3years until processing. DNA extraction was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction for human β-globin, and the presence of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was quantified. The presence of the Y chromosome was detected using primers for sequences in the TSPY (Y7/Y8 and DYS14) and SRY genes. β-Globin was detected in all 10 samples, while 2 samples were positive for PSA. Half of the samples amplified the Y7/Y8 and DYS14 sequences of the TSPY gene and 30% amplified the SRY gene sequence of the Y chromosome. Four male samples and 1 female sample served as controls. Filter-paper spots stored for periods of up to 3years proved adequate for preserving genetic material from vaginal samples collected following sexual violence.

What Is Expected From A Facial Trauma Caused By Violence?

The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the peculiarities of maxillofacial injuries caused by interpersonal violence with other etiologic factors. Medical records of 3,724 patients with maxillofacial injuries in São Paulo state (Brazil) were retrospectively analyzed. The data were submitted to statistical analysis (simple descriptive statistics and Chi-squared test) using SPSS 18.0 software. Data of 612 patients with facial injuries caused by violence were analyzed. The majority of the patients were male (81%; n = 496), with a mean age of 31.28 years (standard deviation of 13.33 years). These patients were more affected by mandibular and nose fractures, when compared with all other patients (P < 0.01), although fewer injuries were recorded in other body parts (χ(2) = 17.54; P < 0.01); Victims of interpersonal violence exhibited more injuries when the neurocranium was analyzed in isolation (χ(2) = 6.85; P < 0.01). Facial trauma due to interpersonal violence seem to be related to a higher rate of facial fractures and lacerations when compared to all patients with facial injuries. Prominent areas of the face and neurocranium were more affected by injuries.

Spatial analysis of urban violence based on emergency room data

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the spatial intensity of urban violence events using wavelet-based methods and emergency room data. METHODS: Information on victims attended at the emergency room of a public hospital in the city of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil, from January 1, 2002 to January 11, 2003 were obtained from hospital records. The spatial distribution of 3,540 events was recorded and a uniform random procedure was used to allocate records with incomplete addresses. Point processes and wavelet analysis technique were used to estimate the spatial intensity, defined as the expected number of events by unit area. RESULTS: Of all georeferenced points, 59% were accidents and 40% were assaults. There is a non-homogeneous spatial distribution of the events with high concentration in two districts and three large avenues in the southern area of the city of São Paulo. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital records combined with methodological tools to estimate intensity of events are useful to study urban violence. The wavelet analysis is useful in the computation of the expected number of events and their respective confidence bands for any sub-region and, consequently, in the specification of risk estimates that could be used in decision-making processes for public policies.

Violence against women: a study of the reports to police in the city of Itapevi, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Background: violence against women is a serious problem caused by the social construction of feminineness and masculineness that results in the domination of women by men. Public policies on gender have recently been developed in order to confront the problem. But what exactly are the problems faced by women? Purposes: to survey and analyse cases of violence against women reported to the police, as recorded at the Police Stations for Women`s Defence (PSWDs), and to reconstruct the procedures that women must go through in order to denounce their aggressors. Methodology: this quantitative, exploratory and descriptive study was undertaken during 2006-2007 in the city of Itapevi, Sao Paulo metropolitan region, Brazil. As there is no PSWD data were collected from police reports from PSWDs of neighbouring cities. Findings: malicious physical injury (49%) and threats (42%) were the most commonly reported types of violence. The victims were aged between 20 and 49 years (93%). Almost all of the aggressors (97%) were men and most had an intimate relationship with their victim. The use of alcoholic beverages was linked to approximately 25% of the cases. Conclusion: women who are victims of domestic violence in Itapevi report that going through PSWDs of neighbouring cities is a difficult, isolated, long and expensive process that often, provides no institutional protection. Implications for practice: there is an urgent requirement for judicial-assistance and support close to home in order to provide a quality service and follow-up for these women and their aggressors; to provide training for the professionals called to attend them at police stations; and for a caring attitude from health-care professionals.,0 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Education in Human Rights: Reflections on Power, Violence and Authority in the School

This article explores human rights and education based on an intervention experience conducted in three schools located in Sao Paulo City, which had as its main goal a substantial reduction in violence (2004-2005). The guideline was that education should be considered a basic human right, taking into consideration the power and authority relations that exist within this institution. What are the problems that we face, nowadays, to consider education as a human right, in the difficult Brazilian history? Is it possible to think about some kind of democratic authority within the school, when our vision of authority is linked to despotic leaders, or even when there is no space for any authority? How does this discussion associate with the violence in our daily life in school? These are some of the questions included in the debate proposed by this article.

Homicide mortality, socioeconomic development, and police violence in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Objective. To analyze the association between police violence and homicide mortality rates taking into consideration the effect of contextual variables. Methods. This was an environmental, cross-sectional study that included the 96 census districts in the City of Sao Paulo. The association between the variables was analyzed using Spearman`s rank correlation and simple and multiple regression analysis. Results. Univariate analysis revealed a strong and significant association between homicide mortality coefficients and all the indicators of socioeconomic development and police violence. After controlling for potential confounding factors, the association between police violence and homicide mortality coefficients remained strong and significant. This significance was lost only after control for the size of the resident population. Conclusion. The results indicate that police action that violates basic human rights is not the right answer to urban violence. The combination of homicides from interpersonal violence and deaths from police violence results in negative socialization and promotes further violence.

An epidemic of violence?: Changing patterns in reported rapes in Victoria

Victoria Police statistics show that, since the late 1980s, there has been a significant increase in reported rapes in that State. One interpretation of this trend is that there has been an increase in the underlying incidence of sexual violence in the community. An alternative explanation is that rape victims have become more willing to report to the police, in response to factors such as improved provision of support services to sexual assault victims, reforms to substantive and procedural law, and changes in police attitudes and procedures. In order to rest these competing interpretations data were collected and analysed on the characteristics of rapes reported to the Victoria Police in the late 1980s/early 1990s. This analysis showed that: (I) most of the additional offences reported in the early 1990s were allegations of rapes committed by family members, spouses and other intimates; and (2) an increasing number of reports related to offences which had been committed at feast one year prior to a report being made to the police. It is argued that these changing patterns are consistent with a significant increase in the reporting rate for rape. More generally, the research reported in this paper highlights the limitations of reported crime statistics as measures of the level of social violence, and points to the need for crime researchers to develop alternative methodologies for measuring and interpreting trends.

Violence against women is strongly associated with suicide attempts: Evidence from the WHO multi-country study on women`s health and domestic violence against women

Suicidal behaviours are one of the most important contributors to the global burden of disease among women, but little is known about prevalence and modifiable risk factors in low and middle income countries. We use data from the WHO multi-country study on women`s health and domestic violence against women to examine the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts, and relationships between suicide attempts and mental health status, child sexual abuse, partner violence and other variables. Population representative cross-sectional household surveys were conducted from 2000-2003 in 13 provincial (more rural) and city (urban) sites in Brazil, Ethiopia, japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia, Thailand and Tanzania. 20967 women aged 15-49 years participated. Prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts, lifetime suicidal thoughts, and suicidal thoughts in the past four weeks were calculated, and multivariate logistic regression models were fit to examine factors associated with suicide attempts in each site. Prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts ranged from 0.8% (Tanzania) to 12.0% (Peru city): lifetime thoughts of suicide from 7.2% (Tanzania province) to 29.0% (Peru province), and thoughts in the past four weeks from 1.9% (Serbia) to 13.6% (Peru province). 25-50% of women with suicidal thoughts in the past four weeks had also visited a health worker in that time. The most consistent risk factors for suicide attempts after adjusting for probable common mental health disorders were: intimate partner violence, non-partner physical violence, ever being divorced, separated or widowed, childhood sexual abuse and having a mother who had experienced intimate partner violence. Mental health policies and services must recognise the consistent relationship between violence and suicidality in women in low and middle income countries. Training health sector workers to recognize and respond to the consequences of violence may substantially reduce the health burden associated with suicidal behaviour. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Candidate-Gene Approach in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder After Urban Violence: Association Analysis of the Genes Encoding Serotonin Transporter, Dopamine Transporter, and BDNF

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent, disabling anxiety disorder marked by behavioral and physiologic alterations which commonly follows a chronic course. Exposure to a traumatic event constitutes a necessary, but not sufficient, factor. There is evidence from twin studies supporting a significant genetic predisposition to PTSD. However, the precise genetic loci still remain unclear. The objective of the present study was to identify, in a case-control study, whether the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) val66met polymorphism (rs6265), the dopamine transporter (DAT1) three prime untranslated region (3`UTR) variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR), and the serotonin transporter (5-HTTPRL) short/long variants are associated with the development of PTSD in a group of victims of urban violence. All polymorphisms were genotyped in 65 PTSD patients as well as in 34 victims of violence without PTSD and in a community control group (n = 335). We did not find a statistical significant difference between the BDNF val66met and 5-HTTPRL polymorphism and the traumatic phenotype. However, a statistical association was found between DAT1 3`UTR VNTR nine repeats and PTSD (OR = 1.82; 95% CI, 1.20-2.76). This preliminary result confirms previous reports supporting a susceptibility role for allele 9 and PTSD.