The impacts of violence among women in intimate relationships: an integrative literature review

Abstract

The aim is to identify cultural, social and health impacts caused by intimate partner violence (IPV) in homoaffective (MOH) and biaffective (MOB) women. This is an integrative literature review that sought and analyzed studies indexed in the PubMed and Lilacs databases, considering the following languages. The study sought to answer the following research question: “What impacts does IPV bring to MOB and MOH?”. Forty two studies were found and after applying the exclusion criteria, 19 went into the final sample. Data were analyzed using the content analysis methodology, Bardin’s thematic analysis modality (2009). The full analysis of the articles revealed two categories: 1) Intimate partner violence and sociocultural impacts; and 2) Intimate partner violence and health impacts. The experience of situations of violence in intimate partnerships between homo and/or biaffective women affect their sociocultural and health dimensions, since they are under the bias of double vulnerability: women in homo/biaffective relationships. There is also an invisibility of the phenomenon in health services, since professionals are not trained to address the different sexual orientations among women and even less the situations of violence resulting from these relationships.