Resignation, violence and filing complaint: social representations of the male aggressor from the perspective of the female victim of aggression.

The scope of this study is to analyze the social representations of the male aggressor from the perspective of the female victim of aggression. It is a qualitative and representational study conducted, using free narrative as the data-gathering tool, with twenty women who were under the protection of the Reference Center in Natal in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. ALCESTE 2010 software was used to analyze the textual data. Three thematic categories were developed for the purpose: i) The imprisonment of women; ii) Violence and its significance; iii) Breaking the cycle of violence. From the perspective of the female victim of aggression, the social representations of the behavior of the male aggressor are entrenched in the social role of males in the family and in society. In this way, it represents a model of dominant masculinity that in turn reinforces family structures and the repetition of roles.