Presentation

Eradicate violence against women is an urgent ethical need to build a human society of living together with justice and peace where the care of everyone’s life can prevail.

Aiming to make a contribution to knowledge and thinking on the problem of different forms of violence to which the women are subjected by the social and ideological construction of patriarchy, the Venezuelan Journal of Women’s Studies presents in this issue a set of articles devoted to the violence against women in order to address both the analysis of the different gender-based violence in reality, as the instruments (ideological, political, etc.) that support and legitimize it, exploring strategies for its eradication and the responsibility that commits the state, institutions and citizens.

An adequate conceptualization of violence against women has become essential to achieve effective prevention policies, so as for justice and redress to victims. The knowledge of the many faces and edges of hidden and institutionalized violence action on the different spheres of everyday’s life, is imperative to eradicate this phenomenon. Understand, investigate and disseminate to transform the structures, mechanisms and cultural and subjective formations that violate the woman is, in conclusion, the purpose and contribution of female researchers whose works are included here.

The administration of justice dedicated to violence against women is a matter for discussion in the works of Yolanda Jaimes Guerrero, Beatriz Gimeno-Reinoso Sweeping Violeta Silva and Jessica Gutierrez Gomez, on this area a a significant progress is evidenced, although there is still enough to cover. Justice of the twenty-first century has the equity as a goal and affirmative action as instrument. The elimination of all forms of gender discrimination drives the appreciation of the female gender as a subject of special protection; in this sense, the implementation of laws on violence against women is carried out with success, strengths and failures.

Violence in the context of relationships leaves emotional wounds painful and difficult to overcome, so Yurbin Aguilar proposes by an interesting and useful way, some guidelines for psychotherapy on survivors of violent relationships.

However, symbolic violence is the root of different forms of aggression, the legitimate and feedback. We need to dismantle the imaginary lines that support the abuse of women and their social representations, and so the work of Gladys and Jessie White Ariza are important contributions to this aspiration.

For his part, Luciana Maria Sciortino Analía Silvana Guerra address femicide from theoretical and practical feminist commitment. Interest in broadening the discussion to forms of violence that remain little studied, these are the themes of obstetric violence that Asia Villegas and Marbella Camacaro show masterfully, yet it is a so widespread problem that almost no woman has’t suffered, but still remains hidden and silenced. So as with bullying and harassment of women at work, a fact which focuses on the contribution of Doris Acevedo.

In addition, opening important avenues for thinking on the different violences against women, we think of the specificity of African descent and indigenous doubly violated, the points made by Blanca Escalona Rojas and Gisela Espinosa Damián. The historical overview introduced by the article of Tovar Marianela shows how usual is the patriarchy and his inheritance. Finally Leon Magdymar report on the vulnerability to the AIDS by the victims of violence, we are confronted with the consequences of inequality in the construction of male and female sexuality.

We are confident that this issue of the Venezuelan Journal of Women’s Studies will be useful to researchers and defenders of human rights of women, and a reference precursor of discussions, thinking and new developments in the fight to eradicate gender violence.

Alba Carosio