Revendo histórias, quebrando o silêncio: representações sociais da velhice nos relatos de mulheres em situação de violência, Vitória – ES (2010 – 2020)

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the experiences of women with the aging process and violence, based on the reports of users of the Specialized Reference Centers for Social Assistance (Creas) in the city of Vitória, capital of the state of Espírito Santo. Aging is seen as a biological and psychosocial process, which affects the conditions of gender, race and class. That is, the pace and impact of the transformations that are characteristic of advancing age are perceived and experienced differently by aging subjects, both between men and women, and between women from different contexts. Furthermore, it is considered that old age, as an age category, is also historical and social, as it has taken on multiple representations over time. At the end of the 19th century, it appears associated with the destitute and sheltered old age of the old poor who were no longer able to contribute to the productive system, nor to maintain themselves financially. On the other hand, from the 1980s onwards, a notion of active aging emerged, linked to a “state of mind”, which tends to place subjects in the position of responsible for their own aging process (DEBERT, 2004). Far from signifying a profound change in the situation of the elderly in our society, it is argued that these sometimes derogatory, sometimes positive representations of aging coexist and contribute to the continued vulnerability of the elderly to discrimination and violence, especially of elderly women. This assertion is based on the history of women victimization by gender violence, which extends throughout all stages of life, including old age. It is intended, therefore, from the Oral History of Life, to understand the different contexts, the motivations involved and the perceptions about situations of violence that lead these women to break the silence and seek care in specialized services. In addition to identifying the possible impacts of public policies to combat violence against the elderly in the city of Vitória-ES in the years 2010 to 2020.