[Impact of care for victims of gender violence on the health professionals]

Abstract

Professionals who work with women victims of gender violence face difficult emotional situations, and it is important to be aware of the emotions and feelings that the attitudes and behaviour of victims and aggressors generate in them. These emotions can become barriers to communication and seriously affect the professional's relationship with victims. Furthermore, they can generate situations of sustained stress, lead to emotional exhaustion, and affect their health, life, and work performance. We describe the consequences, risk factors and warning signs, as well as protective or resilience factors, that are important to know, and we list the current challenges and some recommendations for professionals and management in order to help prevent such effects and improve professional performance without health risks.

Keywords: Atención Primaria; Burnout; Emotional impact; Gender violence; Impacto emocional; Intimate partner; Primary Care; Trauma vicario; Vicarius trauma; Violencia contra la mujer en la pareja; Violencia de género.