Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on violence against women: analysis of prevalence of injuries in the bucomaxillofacial complex/Impacto de la pandemia de COVID-19 en la violencia contra las mujeres: analisis de la prevalencia de lesiones en el complejo bucomaxillofacial/Impacto da pandemia de COVID-19 na violencia contra a mulher: analise da prevalencia das lesoes do complexo bucomaxilofacial

Violence against women is a global phenomenon that persists as a social and public health challenge, affecting millions of people worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this situation by imposing confinement measures that increased women's vulnerability to domestic abuse. Based on the above, the study aimed to analyze the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on violence against women in the city of Aracatuba-SP. Data were collected from police reports and forensic reports of cases of violence against women attended at the Women's Defense Police Station (DDM) from 2019 to 2021. Socioeconomic data and characteristics of injuries involving the maxillofacial complex were analyzed. The variables studied included age group, type of violence, and causative agent of the injury. There was a significant increase in the incidence of violence against women during the pandemic period, and the aggressions often targeted facial areas, reflecting the symbolic humiliation attributed by the aggressor to the woman. The worsening of violence cases reveals the need for the development of Public Policies to combat this situation, as the emergence of new pandemics cannot be ruled out. Keywords: Domestic Violence. COVID-19. Facial Injuries. La violencia contra la mujer es un fenomeno mundial que persiste como un desafio social y de salud publica y afecta a millones de personas en todo el mundo. La pandemia de COVID-19 ha exacerbado esta situacion, imponiendo medidas de confinamiento que han aumentado la vulnerabilidad de las mujeres al abuso domestico. Con base en lo anterior, el estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la influencia de la pandemia de COVID-19 sobre la violencia contra las mujeres en la ciudad de Aracatuba-SP, los datos se recopilaron a partir de los boletines de ocurrencia y los informes periciales de casos de violencia contra las mujeres atendidos en la Comisaria de Defensa de la Mujer (DDM), en el periodo de 2019 a 2021. Se analizaron datos socioeconomicos y caracteristicas de las lesiones que involucran al complejo bucomaxilofacial. Las variables estudiadas fueron el grupo etario, el tipo de violencia y el agente causante de la lesion. En el periodo de la pandemia se registro un aumento significativo de la incidencia de la violencia contra la mujer y las agresiones a menudo se dirigieron a zonas faciales, lo que refleja el caracter simbolico de la humillacion atribuida por el agresor a la mujer. El agravamiento de los casos de violencia revela la necesidad de