Shelter house for women in situations of violence in the state of Rio de Janeiro: a study on the Lar da Mulher and its professional team

Abstract

The objective of the article is to explore and understand the professional practice of the staff in the shelter house, a public policy aimed at women in situations of domestic, intramarital or intrafamilial violence and threatened with death. The research investigates their pre-service preparation, their narratives about work, the gender violence social phenomenon and of the public policy itself. The work is based on field observation at the Lar da Mulher (RJ) shelter, semi-structured interviews, quantitative data collection on the victims sheltered and, finally, it makes a comparative analysis between other case studies in shelter houses. The results pointed out failures in the provision of state policies that guarantee housing, income and food to the newly emigrated from the house and the lack of a health team inside the shelter. Despite this, the professional team showed great appreciation and satisfaction with the job, striving beyond their attributions, which reveals a dynamic of “managing scarcity”. A solid integration of the team ensures the full functioning of the institution.