A dança do ventre como recurso no atendimento psicossocial de mulheres em situação de violência doméstica

Abstract

This article demonstrates the potential of belly dancing as a resource in psychosocial care to women who have suffered domestic violence. Built on the basis of qualitative research, the process consisted in eight psychosocial intervention meetings with female victims of domestic violence at the Specialised Centre for Women (Centro Especializado de Atendimento à Mulher, CEAM), in Brasilia, between August and October 2015. Ethnographic research tools such as participant observation and field diaries were employed during the work. The data were interpreted in the scope of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological theory, and the results were grouped into four categories: Implication, Autonomy, Belongingness and Wellbeing, and generally confirm the potential of shelter services and belly dancing in elevating self-esteem and the will to face the violence faced by these women.