Introduction:

Violence against women is very significant, it comprehends an environment that is not restricted to certain regions, but has a global reach. This cross-sectional and quantitative study is aimed to identify the profiles of the aggressors and the attacked victims, also to characterize the aggressions.

Materials and methods:

The survey was conducted in a women's, elderly and children's police station in the western state of the city Minas Gerais. For the descriptive analysis, the variables evaluated were: type of aggression, gender of the victim, gender of the aggressor, degree of kinship, age of the victim, age of the aggressor, date of the aggression, time of the aggression, motivation for the aggression, localizations of the lesions and the existence of recurrence. The occurrence records from July to December 2012 belonging to this unit were analyzed.

Results:

There were 247 records of violence against women. These victims were mostly young women between 20-35 years of age (77%). The aggressor in 89,8% of cases were male, aged between 28 and 45 years (82%). The aggressions occurred mostly during the evening (31%) and night (30%). The most prevalent form of violence against women was verbal (48,4%). It was also verified that the motive for the violence was linked to the end of a relationship (35%). It is important to highlight that the aggression situations were recurrent in more than half of the cases (54,5%).

Conclusion:

The rates of violence against women were high in this specific state of Minas Gerais. Which suggests improving the quality of life of the victims is a far more effective strategy to combat violence against women.

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