REFLECTIVE GROUPS WITH MALE PERPETRATORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Patriarchy; Masculinities; Reflective groups; Domestic violence.
The Maria da Penha Law (Law 11.340/2006) was enacted to prevent domestic violence against women and hold offenders accountable. Thus, this study aimed to analyze a reflective group of male perpetrators of domestic violence against women in the city of Natal. The research locus was a support center for women who suffer domestic violence. Data were collected from September to December 2017, in two stages. The first stage was documental and consisted in analyzing the records of the patients participating in all 26 reflective groups. The second one comprised participant observation and semi-structured individual interviews. The results of the first stage indicated a possible profile of the male perpetrators of domestic violence who participated in the reflective groups. They are mostly adults from 31 to 40 years, are brown (“pardo”), and have low level of education and low income. Most cases of violence – especially physical violence - happened during a romantic relationship. The results of the second stage suggested the need for improvements to use the potentials of the groups better, mainly in terms of offenders’ reflection and accountability. Also, the groups alone cannot change the violent masculinities and the capitalist, patriarchal and racist structure. Wider work is necessary in the fight for equality and to overcome the current structure, to seek a truly emancipatory praxis.