The impact of violence on women's health. The present as a reflection of the past: A qualitative study.

The objective of the study is to analyze the impact of violence on women's health and the feelings generated during the period of exposure to violence. This is a qualitative study with an interpretative phenomenological design in which 16 women participated-4 through interviews and 12 through stories. The data obtained were analyzed using the Colaizzi approach. The results were structured into 3 themes according to how the women interpreted their experiences. The themes were physical consequences: visible traces; psychological consequences: stormy days and sunny days; and social consequences: from loneliness to a new world. In conclusion, the women in this study considered all those (very diverse) physical pathologies to be important. They encompassed a series of psychological disorders that lasted over time, causing considerable suffering and complicating the participants' ability to relate to the rest of society, especially men. Similarly, the participants identified a series of positive consequences when they left the traumatic situation empowered after overcoming gender-based violence.