SENTIDOS PRODUZIDOS POR FAMILIARES ACERCA DA VIOLÊNCIA POLICIAL

Abstract

This essay investigates and seeks to understand the meanings given by the lower class families of six adolescents and youth regarding police violence. Its objective is to identify psychosocial mediations constructed and used to deal with this reality. In order to develop this investigation information was collected from accusations presented by the families and through the media which spoke of homicides, disappearances and physical aggressions practiced by the police, and cases were registered in the municipalities of Goiânia, Aparecida de Goiânia and Senador Canedo during the time period of 2003 to 2008. Semi-structured interviews were held with eight relatives, focusing on the life history of these relatives and of the victim, their situation of suffering and pain and themes related to the role and behavior of the institutions directly connected to police violence. Analysis of the categories speaks to the social and cultural dimensions related to institutional questions and objectives. Also it relates to questions regarding emotional, affective and individual experiences of the subjects. Police violence is frequently hidden by structural violence and maintained by mechanisms of domination and societal control. It is revealed in a powerful manner from the given meanings, which allows one to comprehend this form of contemporary violence. As thus stated, the psychosocial mediations reveal full intentionality of the subjects regarding their overcoming the situation of the suffered violence, making it clear how much they often have their basic rights as citizens ignored. The issue here is forms of extermination practiced by official discourse, as being an inevitable and even necessary action in the struggle against crime , especially in large urban centers, and most often practiced against adolescents and youth.