“Voy o no voy”: el recurso a la policía en el caso de la violencia de género. Perspectivas de las víctimas

Abstract

This paper sums up the results of a research focusing on the difficulties that victims of intimate partner violence experience around the idea of contacting the police. Interviews to a sample of Spanish and foreign residents in Spain show they face various types of barriers. These barriers are related to the violence itself, to women’s expectations about the response of the criminal justice system and to the specific circumstances faced by some women, particularly those who are socially isolated. This research shows that the police may play a fundamental role for these women, not only through admitting theirreports and through responding to women’s demands to stop a specific episode of violence, but by validating their claims as victims and linking them to other resources which may help them to find their own way out of violent relationships.