Intersectoral network professionals’ perspective on educational intervention to coping with gender violence^a

Abstract

Objective

to identify professionals’ perception about a qualifying educational intervention to cope with gender violence.

Method

a qualitative study, carried out with 28 professionals from Casas da Mulher Brasileira: Brasília (Distrito Federal), Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul) and Curitiba (Paraná). Data collection took place through Critical-emancipatory Workshops, between October 2020 and October 2021. Speeches were subjected to thematic content analysis, and the images were analyzed using the documentary interpretation method, with the support of software.

Results

psychologists, social workers and administrative technicians participated in the study, most of whom had more than four years of work experience in the institution. Four empirical categories emerged from the analyses: Educational intervention as a motivation for knowledge construction; The importance of group dynamics for collaborative learning; The active methodology as a tool for professional recognition; Educational intervention as a possibility to (re)think professional practice.

Conclusion and implications for practice

professionals perceive the potential of educational intervention for understanding and transforming the reality of their work, made possible by the playful, critical, and participatory dynamics. Moreover, it allowed expanding and deepening knowledge to cope with gender violence.

Keywords:
Gender-Based Violence; Knowledge; Learning; Professional Practice; Violence Against Women

Resumo

Objetivo

identificar a percepção dos profissionais sobre uma intervenção educativa qualificadora para o enfrentamento da violência de gênero.

Método

estudo qualitativo, realizado com 28 profissionais das Casas da Mulher Brasileira: Brasília (Distrito Federal), Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul) e Curitiba (Paraná). A coleta de dados ocorreu por meio de Oficinas de Trabalho Crítico-emancipatórias, entre outubro de 2020 e outubro de 2021. Os discursos foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo temática, e as imagens foram analisadas por meio do método documentário de interpretação, com o apoio de software.

Resultados

participaram do estudo psicólogas, assistentes sociais e técnicas-administrativas que, em sua maioria, tinham mais de quatro anos de experiência de trabalho na instituição. Quatro categorias empíricas emergiram das análises: A intervenção educativa como motivação para a construção do conhecimento; A importância da dinâmica grupal para a aprendizagem colaborativa; A metodologia ativa como ferramenta para o reconhecimento profissional; A intervenção educativa como possibilidade de (re)pensar a prática profissional.

Conclusão e implicações para a prática

as profissionais percebem a potencialidade da intervenção educativa para a compreensão e transformação da realidade do seu trabalho, possibilitada pela dinâmica lúdica, crítica e participativa. Ademais, permitiu ampliar e adensar os conhecimentos para enfrentamento da violência de gênero.

Palavras-chave:
Aprendizagem; Conhecimento; Prática Profissional; Violência contra a Mulher; Violência de Gênero

Resumen

Objetivo

identificar la percepción de los profesionales sobre una intervención educativa calificadora para enfrentar la violencia de género.

Método

estudio cualitativo, realizado con 28 profesionales de Casas da Mulher Brasileira: Brasília (Distrito Federal), Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul) y Curitiba (Paraná). La recolección de datos ocurrió a través de Talleres Crítico-emancipadores, entre octubre de 2020 y octubre de 2021. Los discursos fueron sometidos a análisis de contenido temático, y las imágenes fueron analizadas utilizando el método de interpretación documental, con apoyo de software.

Resultados

participaron del estudio psicólogos, trabajadores sociales y técnicos administrativos, la mayoría con más de cuatro años de experiencia laboral en la institución. De los análisis, surgieron cuatro categorías empíricas: La intervención educativa como motivación para la construcción del conocimiento; La importancia de las dinámicas de grupo para el aprendizaje colaborativo; La metodología activa como herramienta de reconocimiento profesional; La intervención educativa como posibilidad de (re)pensar la práctica profesional.

Conclusión e implicaciones para la práctica

los profesionales perciben el potencial de la intervención educativa para comprender y transformar la realidad de su trabajo, posibilitada por la dinámica lúdica, crítica y participativa. Además, permitió ampliar y profundizar conocimientos para enfrentar la violencia de género.

Palabras clave:
Aprendizaje; Conocimiento; Práctica Profesional; Violencia contra la Mujer; Violencia de Género

INTRODUCTION

The term “gender” is associated with the social attributes corresponding to men and women, and the relationships established between them. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued for each sex according to the social context. In most societies, gender inequality is perceived in responsibilities, activities, access and control of resources and decision-making.¹ It is added that this inequality is shaped by structured power relations in society that are expressed in public and private life.²

Gender inequality, codified in social norms and consolidated by policies that ensure greater status and power to men in relation to women, is responsible for sustaining gender-based violence against women. Despite being a constant phenomenon in women’s lives, it is recognized that the burden falls particularly on generational, racial and social class disadvantages. Furthermore, its physical, mental, social and economic consequences are devastating and can last a lifetime for women, children, family and community.³

Given this, it is considered that women experience gender violence in different ways, configurations, intensities and frequencies. Worldwide, in 2018, one in four women aged between 15 and 49 reported having suffered physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.⁴ In the pandemic of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), there was a worldwide increase in this number, with one in two young women reporting having suffered or known a woman in a situation of violence.⁵

These data highlight that violence against women is a problem that pre-dates the pandemic and that it will probably continue to exist for a long time. Thus, it can be said that the emergence of COVID-19 unveiled and intensified a pre-existing problem, as the social distancing adopted to prevent the spread of the disease resulted in isolation of victims in the domestic space along with their aggressors, followed by difficulty in accessing existing support services.⁶

In addition to the difficulty in accessing support services, even in non-pandemic times, many women in situations of violence are faced with limitations in the care provided by professionals. African research with Primary Health Care professionals found that women are held accountable for situations of violence due to the manifestation of behaviors such as passivity or the problematic intake of alcoholic beverages by users.⁷ Another Italian survey with intersectoral network professionals found a tendency to treat women as helpless and dependent on their partners.⁸ These perceptions can reinforce the blaming of women and exempt professionals from dealing with the problem, especially when they are not qualified to deal with situations of violence.⁷

A Spanish survey of health professionals found that only 12% of participants reported some specific training on gender violence. Moreover, they considered as obstacles to care, such as risk of user exposure, fear of offending, little training, insufficient time, lack of privacy and the consideration that it is a private matter.⁹

In addition to the need for instrumental training for the care of women in situations of violence, a meta-synthesis on health professionals’ availability to face domestic violence showed that belief systems shaped by personal experiences or by feminist ideological structures and rights humans were essential for intervention in the problem.¹⁰

The present study refers to a proposal for a short-term educational intervention (EI) that aims to promote knowledge construction about gender violence, instrumentalization for professional practice and critical-participatory development. It is anchored in the critical-emancipatory education framework, which considers education as a form of intervention in the world, as knowledge is constructed from community practice and discussion about reality.¹¹

Based on the above, the study had as its guiding question: what is the perception of professionals who work in the care of women in situations of violence about an EI to qualify gender violence coping? The objective was to identify the perception of professionals about a qualifying EI for coping with gender violence.

METHOD

This is an exploratory, descriptive and interventional study with a qualitative approach. The approximation and understanding of the research object were carried out from the analytical categories of gender¹,² and critical-emancipatory education,¹¹ anchored in historical and dialectical materialism. This theoretical framework presupposes capturing movement, relationships and contradictions related to a given social phenomenon. The understanding of reality, based on the empirical, synthesizes historically and socially transformed determinations.¹²

The study settings were the first three units in operation of the Casa da Mulher Brasileira (CMB), located in Brasília (Federal District), Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul) and Curitiba (Paraná). They were selected because they are products of a public policy to integrate specialized and multidisciplinary services for women in situations of violence¹³ and have more than five years of experience with intersectoral work.

The CMB is made up of the following service sectors: reception, welcoming and screening, psychosocial support, specialized police station for assisting women, specialized court of domestic and family violence against women, transport center, promotion of economic autonomy, transit accommodation, specialized defense and prosecution.

Initial contact with the institutions was made through the coordinators via telephone call. After authorization for data collection, all professionals working at the CMB were invited by the coordinators in person in the service sectors to voluntarily participate in the study. Selection was for the convenience of participants.

We included professionals responsible for or involved in assisting women in situations of violence. We excluded professionals who did not fully participate in the EI. Therefore, 28 professionals participated, 5 from Brasilia, 14 from Campo Grande and 9 from Curitiba.

Face-to-face data collection was pre-scheduled with the coordinators according to participants’ availability, between October 2020 and October 2021. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all necessary security measures were respected for infection prevention during the study.

The empirical material was produced through a Critical-emancipatory Workshop (CEW), which consists of a method of investigation and intervention, based on critical-emancipatory education, on the dialectical method of exposition and analysis, and on emotion as a builder of knowledge. CEW is based on participation, shared responsibility, self-esteem and empowerment, and is divided into four stages: warm-up, individual reflection, group reflection and synthesis.¹⁴

In this study, CEW was structured as an EI and an instrument for data collection at the same time. The CEW schedule was organized into two sessions of three hours each, held on two consecutive days, totaling six hours per CMB unit. The moments that underpinned the development of CEW are presented below:

a) Warm up: participants answered a sociodemographic questionnaire and played a game “Violetas: Cinema & Ação” match in facing violence against women. It is a cooperative and strategic board game, with a minimum of four and a maximum of eight players, who assume the role of characters with special abilities. All play collectively against the violence that is installed in the cities of the board and face the problem through answers to questions related to movie scenes and actions in defense of women.¹⁵

In this study, game “Violetas” was used as a mediating tool to encourage knowledge production about gender violence. Therefore, two games with seven players were played in Campo Grande, two games with four and five players in Curitiba and one game with five players in Brasília.

b) Individual reflection: participants answered an individual form on a game question that aroused interest and the possible repercussions of the problem for the women involved.

c) Group reflection: participants were divided into two groups. Each participant presented what they recorded in the individual form, and the group chose one of the problems raised to answer a second form, which presented elements that guided the construction of actions in the study settings.

d) Synthesis: participants presented the actions constructed by the groups through a conversation wheel and analyzed the potentialities and limits for implementation in concrete reality. Subsequently, participants selected, in open access and national circulation magazines by Editora Globo, one or more images that represented their participation in the EI. The images were used to encourage participants’ reflection and free verbal expression. In total, 50 images were selected.

CEW was recorded through audio, transcribed in full in docx format. The images were scanned in png format. The speeches were submitted to thematic content analysis, according to the following steps: pre-analysis, material exploration, treatment of results, interpretation and inference.¹⁶ The images were analyzed using the Documentary Interpretation Method, which is divided into formulated and reflected interpretation, in which plans, iconographic elements and formal composition, subdivided into planimetric composition, perspective projection, scenic choreography and iconic-iconological interpretation.¹⁷ The Web Qualitative Data Analysis (webQDA) software was used to support the analysis of speeches and images.¹⁸

In webQDA, participant characterization was inserted in xlsx format, through the automatic import tool that created the descriptors. The other data related to speeches and images were entered into the software through the internal sources system in two independent folders. This system is intended for the storage of documents submitted to qualitative analysis. To identify the empirical categories, the speeches and images were categorized in the software using the code tree system. This system proposes speech and image coding as well as data organization into categories according to the order of recurrence of themes.

It should be noted that, in the first stage of categorization, the speeches and images were coded separately, according to each analysis technique. Then, all codes were regrouped into thematic empirical categories.

With regard to ethical aspects, the study met the requirements proposed by Resolution 466/2012 of the Brazilian National Health Council.¹⁹ The research project was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Universidade de São Paulo School of Nursing, under Opinion 3,780,945. It was also presented to CMB units in Brasília, Campo Grande and Curitiba for knowledge and authorization of data collection. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymity was guaranteed by replacing participants’ name with the letter “P”, followed by an Arabic number.

RESULTS

A total of 28 female professionals participated in the study. Most were aged between 40 and 49 years old (n=10), married (n=11) and had one or more children (n=19). Also, 14 participants reported being Catholic and 17 declared themselves to be white. All had completed higher education and 19 reported having at least one graduate course. With regard to work, 11 participants worked as psychologists, 10 as social workers, and the others held administrative positions. In addition, 18 participants had more than 10 years in the profession and worked for more than four years at the CMB.

From speech and image analysis, four empirical categories emerged: Educational intervention as a motivation for knowledge construction; The importance of group dynamics for collaborative learning; The active methodology as a tool for professional recognition; Educational intervention as a possibility to (re)think professional practice.

Educational intervention as a motivation for knowledge construction

At the beginning of EI, it was observed that the game “Violetas” dynamics e and the participatory format generated insecurity for the professionals, as they were not familiar with this type of methodological approach, in which the people involved actively participate in the learning process.

At first, when I arrived to participate, I was quite confused about the purpose of this meeting, what it would be like. Then you came up with the proposal for the game, I was even more confused. But then I got used to it, understanding the objective and I thought it was fantastic, because for me this represents growth, but speaking of the macro, not my growth [...]. Create this space for discussion, reflection, what it is, how it is being done, what is working and what is not (P18).

EI’s participatory format motivated discussion and reflection on gender violence and issues that make up daily professional practice.

I was excited about this discussion issue, because that’s it, we can’t have much time to open these discussions and talk about the cases. I think this was very interesting, in the sense that we could discuss the subject that is the subject of our daily work (P25).

EI was understood as a propitious moment to analyze the cases treated at the CMB and the actions proposed to respond to the problem. The possibility of discussing the daily work promoted interaction between professionals from different sectors and working times. The sharing of emotions and experiences arising from practice was pointed out as an educational resource, mainly by those who were joining the institution and had still had little contact with the subject.

I’ve only been here for a short time, so this new resource that you brought to us from CMB was of great importance, especially for those who are just starting out, for those who are just getting started (P17).

To illustrate this empirical category, participants selected images related to the brain, books or people teaching. One of the images, for instance, represented emotion as a builder of knowledge, since the heart was located in the central part of the brain, a symbol of human rationality.

The importance of group dynamics for collaborative learning

Participants acknowledged that the complexity of gender-based violence requires network assistance so that users’ needs are actually met. In view of this, they stated that the interaction between the different network actors is essential for overcoming the problem.

It was very nice the interaction of the group, we exchanged. It’s this, it’s not that, let’s look again. Exchange is essential, I think in any work situation. We always need to be talking to colleagues, asking for suggestions, clearing doubts, and this reminds us that it is essential to work together (P20).

Although each participant is unique in the EI, all of them were fundamental for constructing actions with a view to facing the problem. In this way, it was considered that the result was achieved faster because it was carried out in a team. However, only the presence of professionals was not enough, there was a need for dialogue between all those involved.

I think it was faster to work as a team than if it was just me there, trying to rack my brains to figure out what we wanted to do. Here at the CMB there is a team, from the reception it goes to the psychosocial and from the psychosocial to the police station. So, we end up working as a team. But here it shows that we work well as a team when we communicate. When there is no communication, no matter how much network we have, it is more difficult (P11).

Communication demands space for speaking and listening so that all of the team members can share their perspectives and skills to achieve a common goal, in this case, the fight against gender violence.

In Figure 1, chosen by one of the participants, there is a canoe with eight people paddling. Each person occupies a specific position that makes it possible to move the canoe through synchronized movement, overcoming the adversities of the water where they are.

Figure 1
Image 14 of the database.

The active methodology as a tool for professional recognition

Professionals considered that participating in the EI provided a discussion on the wear and tear associated with the work process, with the aim of seeking joint alternatives to overcome them.

I think this is even a moment to rebuild our energies, because I particularly sometimes get tired. People say you don’t get tired, I get tired, we wear ourselves out, sometimes we don’t find alternatives [...]. I think this is a moment that for me serves as a boost to regain my energy and see that new strategies for action are possible (P9).

In the EI, there was recognition of the work carried out by professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a significant increase in women in situations of violence and overload caused by the increase in the number of daily consultations at the CMB was observed. However, this work is often carried out by fragile professionals as a result of their own practice and the condition of women in society, given that women’s problems are not only at the individual level, but also at the collective level.

I took these flowers [Database Image 45] because each one of you deserves a flower, with a lot of love, a lot of dignity, a lot of commitment, and that you take care of your flower, because you are dealing with the pain of others. And your own pain? When do you give yourself flowers, see yourself as a woman? So I wanted to give you affection because you deserve it (P26).

Participation in EI was considered a welcoming moment for professionals. In the services’ singularity, participants mentioned that in some situations it is difficult to separate the professional and personal sides. As for the structural dimension, they commented on institutional problems, such as the difficulty of intersectoral communication and the disqualification of a portion of other professionals.

The work is within us. Even if sometimes I get a little discouraged, we have that love for women, for work, for listening, for wanting change. Sometimes institutional problems, which naturally happen, end up putting heavy masks on us, which is natural. But actually this stimulation, this work, which is also about raising awareness as I considered it, brings us a little, we are here! (P23).

Despite the weaknesses exposed, the importance of professionals’ presence and work at the CMB was also mentioned, mainly to support users who are at the beginning of the journey of coping with the problem. One of the selected images showed a tree trunk with a flowering plant on the side. Although the trunk represented an obstacle to the growth of the plant’s roots, it did not prevent flowering.

In this category, images selected by the participants were also included, of women of different races, located in the center of the photograph with an empowering body posture, represented by the upright position, discreet smile and gaze directed towards the camera lens. A smaller portion of the images portrayed female figures practicing manual activities, such as gardening and carpentry, giving the impression that the future was in their hands.

Educational intervention as a possibility to (re)think professional practice

Participants equated professional practice with the exercise of walking a fine line, as they need to find and maintain a balance between the positive and negative aspects of work. The positive aspects were associated with the promotion of autonomy and the emancipation of women, while the negative ones were related to complaint withdrawal and intersectoral service discontinuity.

When we work in a network, it is always very uncertain, it is always a great challenge, being able to count on the institutions. Often, we count on people, but not on institutions. So, I think my image would be this, of seeking balance, of trying to be there, kind of on a tightrope, but at the same time achieving results (P9).

The achievement of positive results through professional practice proved to be a source of satisfaction for the participants and made it possible to improve care, as opposed to the wear and tear identified.

I think that’s the idea, for us not always to look at what’s dry, but for us to be able to see something beautiful and positive, for us to be able to give other formats to the context that we have (P2).

Participants considered that the measures to face gender violence implemented in the CMB, despite being quite appropriate, are still incipient, as they are restricted to meeting the demand, to avoid the chronicity of violations or to reduce risk of life. However, there is still much to be improved in order to deal with the true causes of this phenomenon, which demand a larger set of actions and expertise to face them.

It has a whole horizon to explore, the many things related to domestic violence that still need to be improved, explored, altered, transformed into the reality of these women so that one day there will be no need for Casas da Mulher Brasileira. And this moment that we are, it is stopped. Sometimes we need to stop, think, reflect and organize. Think about the next strokes (P27).

Figure 2 depicts a person with their back turned and looking at the horizon, which reveals a path between trees and a snowy mountain to be climbed. However, she is standing still, holding the oars over the water.

Figure 2
Image 41 of the database. (Caption: Realidade: Reality; Reflexão: Reflection; A mais perfeita definição de imagem: The most perfect image definition; Uma nova geração de espelhos, com maior resistência às manchas e reflexão absolutamente perfeita. Beleza e sofisticação aos projetos: A new generation of mirrors with greater resistance to stains and absolutely perfect reflection. Beauty and sophistication to projects).

The break was considered a moment to observe reality, contemplate the journey and reflect on the future.

DISCUSSION

The results of this study reveal, as a scientific advancement of knowledge, the evidence that gender violence can also be faced through playful, critical and participatory EI, responsible for mobilizing and qualifying the professionals who work in the intersectoral network of assistance to women in situation of violence. However, it is recognized that this coping also depends on interventions aimed at overcoming male domination and female subalternity in society to promote gender equity.

It is considered that the recognition of social inequalities between men and women is fundamental for the proposition of interventions to face gender violence in society. Complying with this, in the educational context, it is important to use feminist pedagogies that oppose sexism and include efforts to end gender discrimination and to encourage equity in the community.²⁰

From game “Violetas”, professionals discussed social inequalities associated with women’s sexual and reproductive rights, sexual and racial diversity, gender stereotypes, different forms of violence, policies and practices for coping with gender violence. They also reflected on the participation and accountability of men and women to overcome the problem in reality.

It is understood that gender violence is a complex social phenomenon, which requires interventions to face it in different dimensions of society. In this study, the authors opted for a short-term EI proposal for the qualification of professionals who work in the care of women in situations of violence. It is recognized that the qualification of professionals, despite being a cornerstone for overcoming the problem, is not enough, but it enhances gendered care, therefore, more compliant with women’s living conditions and health.

In EI, knowledge production on gender issues was encouraged through game “Violetas”, supporting reflection on sexist standards and power relations established between men and women in society. It also allowed the first contact between participants who, despite working in the same institution, did not know each other, due to their insertion in different sectors. As they collaboratively answered the match questions, they shared experiences related to personal and professional life, without judgments. This aspect favored their engagement in the proposed activity.

Engagement with educational activities was also identified in a systematic review of learning experience through games with nursing students. The results revealed that the desire to win the game encouraged participation and referred to the realism provided by the ludic context, promoting engagement and fun that made the learning experience more pleasurable.²¹

In EI, it was found that the individual moment made it possible to identify participants’ perceptions about gender violence and the group moment allowed their sharing. These two moments proved to be relevant not only for knowledge construction on the subject, but, for the establishment of shared responsibility through dialogue, as the professionals had the challenge of winning the game and then thinking about actions to transform the study settings.

Dialogue is the way in which social subjects express themselves and elaborate the world through communication and collaboration. When authentic, it involves the recognition of oneself and the other for the collaborative construction of the common good.²² Thus, it is considered that the understanding of social life occurs from the sharing of different perceptions about the same reality, which enable a new way of understanding it.²²

In the educational context, for the sharing of different perceptions, it is essential to establish horizontal relationships, consisting of multiple voices, where all subjects are equally speakers and listeners, and capable of expressing different knowledge.²⁰

In EI, deepening the discussion on gender violence occurred through the translation of the content addressed in the game’s fictional setting to participants’ concrete reality. The approximation between the experience lived in the match and in professional practice allowed professionals to temporarily suspend the role of actresses in coping with gender violence to occupy the role of critical observers of scenes.

The approximation between teaching and practice was also evidenced in a Spanish survey with social workers who pointed out the lack of training based on practical content as a barrier to coping with violence against women.²³ Corroborating this result, another Spanish survey with postgraduate nurses identified that the reflective analysis of practical cases promoted critical thinking and awareness of the situation.²⁴

Critical thinking involves the dialectical movement between doing and thinking about doing, in an upward movement, i.e., of expanding consciousness. Distancing from practice to make it an object of analysis enables greater intelligibility for the subjects involved. In view of this, the more subjects perceive themselves in practice, the greater the ability to change from the condition of naive curiosity to epistemological criticism.¹¹

The collaboration provided by the EI dynamics made it possible for the professionals to feel comfortable to share doubts, insecurities, dissatisfaction and concerns regarding the care provided at the CMB. On the other hand, it also allowed the recognition of the importance of the care offered to women and the encouragement to continue implementing actions to overcome the adversities of daily work.

It is important to emphasize that data collection for this study was carried out when the COVID-19 pandemic was ongoing. Therefore, the possibility is recognized that the professionals were more fragile due to work overload. This result was identified in other studies, in which professionals mentioned the increase in responsibility, workload and pressure to meet the needs of women in situations of violence, during the COVID-19 pandemic.²⁵,²⁶

The learning constructed through EI was considered important, both for the basis of the assistance and for proposing changes in the work process. The proposal to elaborate answers to the problems of concrete reality was understood as challenging by participants, as they were more used to executing than proposing or reflecting on actions. This possibility of problematizing and creating solutions promoted empowerment and increased self-esteem of professionals.

It is considered that problematizing education is important for social subjects to critically perceive reality and their insertion in it. The more they unveil and understand this reality, the more they critically insert themselves into it in the search for overcoming contradictions and human emancipation.²²

The results of this study also revealed that participants’ knowledge about gender violence did not seem to be sufficient to face the problem. Qualification was identified as an important element, but that requires other investments, such as consolidating intersectoral communication, strengthening integrated and continuous care, and proposing actions aimed at preventing violence against women.

The importance of intersectoral communication was also mentioned in a Brazilian survey with health, social assistance and public safety professionals on the construction of a network of assistance to women in situations of violence. According to the authors, communication depends on knowledge about the work process of each service. To this end, they emphasize the importance of management initiatives for intersectoral articulation, enabling interaction between the various services as well as adequate contribution of human resources, physical infrastructure, favorable environment and flexibility of agendas.²⁷

The participants mentioned that, in addition to EI providing a significant moment for reflection on the object of work, it was considered a support space, because they had the opportunity to talk about their weaknesses, proposing collaborative actions to overcome them as well as identifying potentialities that positively impact the service sectors. Speeches showed that at times the professionals also need attention and care so that they are strengthened to offer support to women in situations of violence.

It is considered that the results of this study revealed the potential of EI with game “Violetas” use for the qualification of professionals who work in the fight against gender violence and for the transformation of the reality in which they are inserted. Participating in EI in a critical and emancipatory way favored the production of knowledge on the subject, including actions that could be implemented in the study settings.

The results also showed that EI is innovative, as it involves playful technology and participatory methodology use, in which professionals are considered learning process subjects and protagonists of the collective construction of actions to transform reality. Additionally, it is noteworthy that the combined qualitative analysis of speeches and images made it possible to expand the identification of senses and deepen the understanding of EI.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

The results of this study showed the potential of EI for the qualification of professionals who work in the care network for women in situations of violence. EI was perceived as an important space for reflection on gender violence and problematization of professional practice, in the sense of encouraging the implementation of actions in concrete reality that aim to overcome barriers in the care of women who seek support services. Furthermore, the relevance of critical and participatory methodology for understanding and transforming the study settings together with the professionals was evidenced.

It is believed that EI can be used for the training of undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of knowledge involved in the care of women in situations of violence as well as for the qualification of professionals who participate in the intersectoral network through continuing education. In addition to this, it is considered that EI corresponds to the heterogeneity of the different Brazilian geopolitical scenarios, insofar as the actions developed by participants relate to the concrete reality in which they are inserted.

The study presented as a limitation the small number of participants initially foreseen. The COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures in place in each setting have contributed to this. Although the study was developed with different service sectors of CMB and in three Brazilian capitals, it is necessary to expand EI use with male participants to explore different gender perspectives and health professionals, since they are not part of CMB and are important members of the network to combat violence against women.

• FINANCIAL SUPPORT

  This work was carried out with the support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel - Brazil (CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) - Financing Code 001, postdoctoral scholarship granted to Lucimara Fabiana Fornari. São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (FAPESP - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo), Process 2017/11960-6, research project, entitled “Potencialidades e limites do jogo Violetas para o enfrentamento da violência de gênero”, coordinated by Rosa Maria Godoy Serpa da Fonseca, in 2018-2022.
• a
  Article extracted from the postdoctoral research project “Sistematização e validação qualitativa de uma proposta de intervenção por meio do jogo Violetas para o enfrentamento da violência de gênero”, presented to the Postgraduate Program in Nursing, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2022, authored by Lucimara Fabiana Fornari, under the supervision of Rosa Maria Godoy Serpa da Fonseca.

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Edited by

ASSOCIATED EDITOR

SCIENTIFIC EDITOR

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  15 May 2023
• Date of issue
  2023

History

• Received
  25 Aug 2022
• Accepted
  09 Mar 2023