Casos sospechosos de violencia de género e intrafamiliar con violencia psicológica notificados al Sistema de Vigilancia en Salud Pública (Sivigila), Colombia, 2021

Abstract

Introduction: Gender-based (GBV) and domestic violence (DV) is a public health problem that mainly affects women, children, and adolescents. Psychological abuse is perhaps one type of violence that is not usually easily identifiable by the victim or health personnel; therefore, timely and comprehensive care for the victim is not provided, adversely affecting mental and physical health or resulting in other forms of violence. The study intends to describe the behavior of notification of suspected cases of GBV and DV with psychological abuse to the Public Health Surveillance System (Sivigila) in 2021.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study based on suspected cases of GBV and DV with psychological abuse reported to Sivigila in 2021.

Results: In 2021, 11,545 suspected cases of psychological abuse were reported, with a notification rate of 22.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The Cundinamarca, Huila, Antioquia, Quindío, and Amazonas provinces had the highest notification rates, and 62.0% (7,139) of the cases occurred in the territorial entities of Antioquia, Cundinamarca, and Bogotá, D.C. Besides, 85.3% (9,846) of the victims were women and 41.0% (4,728) belonged to the contributory health system. In 33.1% (3,827) of the cases, the aggressor was the partner, and in 85.4% (9,863).

Conclusion: Psychological abuse occurred more frequently in women, and the most affected age group was 29 to 59 years old; the decrease in case notification in 2020 and its subsequent increase in 2021 may be related to the victims’ accessibility to health services. This finding suggests that in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to implement strategies that allow the identification, comprehensive health care, protection of, and justice for victims when they cannot access health services and, subsequently, strengthen mental health actions in the territories aimed at the general population to prevent the occurrence of GBV and DV.