Psychosocial impacts of the revictimization of women in situations of sexual violence

Abstract

The revictimization of women in situations of sexual violence circumscribes a process of secondary victimization and institutional gender violence, which occurs in the various stages in which women seek protection from institutions and suffer new violence by public agents, who do not welcome them properly, but reproduce gender inequalities in narratives crossed by discriminatory stereotypes, sexist and sexist. The study aimed to describe the psychosocial impacts of the revictimization of women in situations of sexual violence. It is a documentary, bibliographic and narrative research, with a descriptive character and a qualitative approach. To this end, data collection was carried out in the google scholar database, in June 2024, in which the following Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) were adopted in the selection of articles: 'violence against women' AND 'sexual violence' AND 'care services' AND 'psychosocial impact', added to the term 'revictimization'. Articles published in indexed scientific journals, in the last 5 years (2019-2024), with open access, available in Portuguese or English, were included. A total of twenty articles were chosen. After a thorough reading of the materials, two analytical categories were listed: (1) weaknesses in the intersectoral network of care for women in situations of sexual violence; (2) psychosocial impacts of revictimization and the importance of psychology. In view of the psychosocial impacts of the revictimization of women in situations of sexual violence, it is crucial and peremptory: humanized, holistic, comprehensive care; continuous qualification of the network's social actors; combating the subordination and oppression to which women are subjected; valuing subjectivities, understanding idiosyncrasies and dealing with mental health and psychological suffering; appropriate referrals to the network's specialized services.