La intervención psicosocial contra la violencia de género en Quito. Tejiendo narrativas y nuevos sentidos

Abstract

Few studies have been done on psychosocial intervention in cases of gender violence in Quito. The purpose of this investigation is to shed light on a number of questions: How is gender violence in Quito constructed as a problem requiring intervention? What effects do these conceptions have on local policies? How are persons who receive intervention conceived? What kind of intervention takes place? What effects do these interventions have on the persons who are part of the processes? To respond to these matters, the production of narratives and the genealogical approach were used as methods for gathering information._x000D_ This thesis was conceived as a series of articles. The title of the first article explains the issue under analysis: “Silences and accents in the construction of gender violence as a social problem in Quito”. The second, “Sets, characters and plots of psychological performance in gender violence in Quito,” is about the conceptions and practices professionals in the field of psychology apply in dealing with the problem and in looking for a solution. The third, entitled “Gender violence in psychosocial intervention in Quito. Weaving narratives to construct new meanings,” is about understandings and practices in serving persons who have lived situations of gender violence._x000D_ We conclude that in Quito gender violence has been constructed according to five semiotic-material matrices: sexuality, health, human rights, citizen safety, and disciplinary practices. In policies and methodologies for treatment offered through city services, those matrices which deal with the problem from a legal standpoint have been emphasized while approaches that conceive of the problem as a mechanism for controlling sexuality and the body have been silenced. This has lead, in the final analysis, to looking for solutions to the problem in the individual realm while ignoring the public character of gender violence. As for the users of these services, we found that they are understood as: victims, subjects at fault, and subjects in the discourse of the Other; very few approaches recognizing their agency were applied. In regard to psychological performance, an emphasis on “clinical victimology” and the “salvation paradigm” was evident.

Date of Award	26 Jan 2016
Original language	Undefined/Unknown
Supervisor	Marisela Montenegro Martinez (Director)