Violencia vicaria: identificación en expedientes judiciales y percepción del equipo técnico de la Unidad Judicial de Familia, Mujer, Niñez y Adolescencia con sede en el cantón Cuenca, Ecuador, en el periodo 2022-2023

Abstract

Vicarious violence is a form of gender violence against women, where the main victim is the woman; and, the aggressor, the male chauvinist, who, in his intention to harm her, exerts it on third parties, which ensures that she is subject to permanent vulnerability. The general objective of this research is to describe the discourses or narratives in judicial files regarding vicarious violence and the perception of this phenomenon in the technical team of the Judicial Unit for Family, Women, Children and Adolescents, based in the canton of Cuenca, Ecuador, in the period 2022-2023. The research had a mixed approach, dominant the quantitative and the embedded qualitative, with a non-experimental design for the quantitative and phenomenological for the qualitative, descriptive and exploratory in scope. We worked with 30 judicial files selected according to criteria for convenience in matters of possession, divorce and visitation regime; and, with eight members of the technical office of the Judicial Unit. A data collection form was used for judicial files -quantitative- and a focus group -qualitative- to describe the perception of the technical team regarding vicarious violence in the cases attended. The results obtained show that vicarious violence is not included in said files.; and, the perception of the members of the technical team, evidenced that they know and recognize intrafamily violence, violence against members of the family nucleus and gender violence against women, but in a general context, they are unaware of vicarious violence.