Abstract

GIRALDO GIRALDO, Carlos Alberto; PASTOR DURANGO, María del Pilar; LOPEZ LOPEZ, María Victoria  and  GARCIA GARCIA, Héctor Iván. Scenarios of Violence: Interpretation of Nonfatal Injuries, Colombia. rev.colomb.psiquiatr. [online]. 2009, vol.38, n.3, pp.405-419. ISSN 0034-7450.

Objective: To build scenarios of violence caused by nonfatal intentional injuries in the Province of Antioquia (Colombia), based on cases managed in 12 hospitals of different care levels in 2007. Methodology: Different qualitative approach elements were combined to allow describing the context (ethnography); to make double interpretation of the events, from the actor and the investigator (hermeneutics), and to construct the scenarios of violence by means of inteviews with 87 subjects injured in violent events. Results: Most of the aggressions occurred in males between 20 and 49 years of age, living in urban areas and with no formal employment. The attacks happened between Friday and Sunday, in the middle of a fight in the street or a public establishment. The injuries were caused by stabbing, slashing or blunt weapons and usually by sombody known to the victim, a friend or a relative. Such scenarios help to understand the violence in Antioquia and the differences between regions. These were: conversion, economic or moral claim, random injury, personal conflicts, social control, failure in managing intra-family conflicts, aggression as an identity symbol, survival and coexistence of practices or norms with armed actors. Conclusion: By means of these scenarios fundamental social processes are identified. However, their boundaries are not definitive overlappings exist between them, showing their complexity in this Province.

Keywords : Violence; cultural anthropology; aggression; qualitative analysis.

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