Intimate partner violence against women in Quindío, a never-ending drama

Abstract

Introduction: This article presents an approach to the state of intimate partner violence against women in Colombia and in the department of Quindío between 2017 and 2020 or period of affectation by the Covid-19 pandemic. Objective To analyze and compare figures and statistics in relation to intimate partner violence against women, nationally in Colombia and in the department of Quindío, in period. Method: Institutional reports on gender violence were reviewed, specifically from the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Forensis), and data were extracted from them according to each period Analyzed through frequency tables. Results: It was found that intimate partner violenceis a serious public health problem, and that, in the pandemic period (2019-2020) in Quindío there was a 50% decrease in telephone calls reporting violence through the 155 line, a figure that contrasts with national data, since, in 2019 an average of 602 effective calls were received. While, in 2020 they doubled reaching 1,221 calls, which showed an increase of 103 %. The main causes were found to be jealousy and mistrust on the part of the partner or ex-partner, which was the cause of polytrauma in female heads of household who mostly cohabited or were in a relationship with a consumer of psychoactive substances. Conclusion: It is concluded that in Quindío, partner aggression was high, being adolescent and young women the frequent victims, and there was also a slight increase -of 2-3%- in aggression against women in rural areas compared to national figures in both cases; however, what the department does agree with the data in Colombia is that it occurs mostly in women with secondary schooling, single or in free union, and the aggressor is their partner or ex-partner.