(Applied) Conversation Analysis as an approach for the study of language and gender: The case of services for female victims of violence in Brazil

Abstract

In this article I show how (Applied) Conversation Analysis might help us understand human actions in everyday situations. In order to do so, I make use of the results of an investigation of services provided to female victims of domestic violence. I comparatively analyze the discursive practices of professionals in two parallel institutions created to address violence against women in Brazil: a unit of an all-female police station (DDM) and a feminist center of intervention on violence against women (CIV-Mulher or CIV) in their interactions with female victims of domestic violence. The analysis of the interactional data shows that the police officers tend behave with more distance from and control over the victims. The feminists, on the other hand, seem to prioritize more cooperation with and closeness towards the women they serve. I also discuss how studies of this kind might help us broaden our understanding of the relationship between language and gender as well as of power relations.