Domestic violence experienced by adolescents: The discourse of women educators

Abstract

Objective: To learn the perception of women educators about domestic violence against adolescents. Method: This is a qualitative study, based on Paulo Freire’s Critical-Liberating Perspective, conducted with 20 women educators from a public elementary school located in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. An interview was conducted from August to October 2017. Data was systematized based on the Collective Subject Discourse and analyzed in the light of theorist Paulo Freire. Results: The women educators’ speeches about domestic violence against adolescents revealed perceptions represented by the “Forms of violence against adolescents practiced in the domestic setting”; “Repercussions of domestic violence on health and education”; “Naturalization of domestic violence”; and “Reproduction of violence in the school space”. Conclusion: Women educators recognize domestic violence as an intergenerational phenomenon that expresses itself in various ways and has repercussions on the physical and mental health of adolescents with repercussions on school performance and interpersonal relationships, including with peers and teachers.