Representaciones sociales de la legítima defensa en el marco de la violencia de género desde profesionales de psicología jurídica y derecho penal

Abstract

The interest of the research is focused on understanding and relating two concepts, one legal and the other socio-political, these are, the legitimate defense and gender violence, therefore, the main objective is Analyze the social representations given by the participants, 4 professionals of legal psychology and 3 criminal lawyers, against the concept of legitimate defense in the framework of gender violence in Colombia. This in order to generate new perspectives for both the penal system and psychology. A qualitative study type was carried out, in which 7 professionals participated, 3 from the area of criminal law and 4 from the area of legal psychology, with whom the focused interviews were carried out, exploring the knowledge, beliefs, opinions, perceptions, positions, etc., that these professionals have regarding the application of the concept of self-defence in the context of gender-based violence. The results were analyzed through categories that allowed visualizing components of the legitimate defense and gender violence, as well as the relationship of some requirements of the legitimate defense with the violent context to which women were subjected. The main findings are linked to the applicability of the legal concept in cases of gender-based violence, it was also found that the requirements set out in Article 32 for the application of the legitimate defence could be analysed by the criminal system in more detail, and that there are significant psychological consequences generated by violence, consequences that should not be omitted when assessing the case, as these effects could be considered as a mitigating factor.