Situations which precipitate conflicts in the conjugal relationship: the women's discourse

This study aimed to analyze the situations that precipitate and/or intensify conflicts in the conjugal relationship. Interviews were held with 19 women experiencing conjugal violence. The Discourse of the Collective Subject was used as the method of organization, making it possible to find the central ideas, and gender was used as the analytical framework. Summary: the women report the man's control and domination of the woman, jealousy, the male partner's infidelity, unplanned fatherhood and motherhood, and the use of alcohol and drugs. These situations are related to the construction of the conjugal violence and/or the woman's remaining in the relationship, with preventive actions being essential so as to avoid this phenomenon and its repercussions on the health of the woman and the family. The work of the professional nurse is indispensable in the programs for harm prevention and for the promotion and assistance of the health of women and families, through social and health service means and facilities existing in the community.