Physical Violence: Indicators and Mechanisms

Mechanisms of Direct and Indirect Harm and Lethality

Physical violence represents the most visible and traditionally recognized manifestation of domestic abuse, but its technical understanding requires going well beyond superficial bruising.

As experts in the field, we must categorize it not only by the resulting injury, but by the intentionality of the control that underlies the act.

This violence is configured through the intentional use of force, either in fact or as a threat, covering a spectrum of damage that includes direct and indirect mechanisms.

Among the direct mechanisms we find classic aggressions such as slaps, punches, burns and the use of blunt objects.

However, there are indirect or passive mechanisms that are equally lethal and often go unnoticed in a superficial evaluation.

Prominent among these is the deprivation of basic needs, such as sleep deprivation, which constitutes a psychological torture tactic designed to weaken the victim's physical and cognitive resistance.

Also included is the denial of critical medical care or the forcing of substance use to override willpower.

One indicator of extreme risk that every practitioner should monitor is non-lethal strangulation.

Forensic statistics are compelling: a victim who has suffered an attempted strangulation is seven times more likely to be a victim of homicide in the future.

Therefore, the severity of physical violence should not be assessed solely by the "physical imprint" or visible medical incapacity at the time of the allegation, but by the potential for lethality that reveals the dynamics of the aggression and the intentionality to exert total power over the life of the other.

Forensic Recognition of Injuries and Defensive Patterns

Expert identification of physical violence requires acute and trained clinical observation, given that batterers often act with calculated instrumentality.

They frequently direct blows to areas of the body covered by clothing, such as the torso, thighs, or back, to avoid social detection and maintain the facade of normalcy; this phenomenon is technically known as the "bathing suit pattern."

It is essential for the evaluator to distinguish between offensive and defensive injuries in order to reconstruct the mechanics of the events.

Injuries located on the forearms, palms of the hands or soles of the feet usually indicate unequivocally that the victim attempted to protect himself from an active attack by covering his face or body.

Also, the simultaneous presence of lesions in different stages of healing - for example, bruises of different colors (purplish, greenish, yellowish) - suggests a chronic, repetitive and systematic pattern, ruling out the hypothesis of an isolated or accidental event.

The expert should maintain a high index of suspicion in the face of inconsistent explanations about the origin of the injuries, such as "I fell down the stairs" or "I hit the door", especially when these narratives do not match the biomechanics of the observed trauma or the severity of the injuries.

The assessment should be comprehensive, understanding that the absence of blood or fractures does not imply the absence of life-threatening risk.

Summary

Physical violence transcends visible bruising; it is defined by the intentionality of control through the use of force. It includes indirect lethal mechanisms, such as sleep deprivation, designed to weaken the psychological resistance of the victim.

One indicator of extreme risk is non-lethal strangulation. Forensic statistics reveal that having suffered this attack increases the likelihood of future homicide sevenfold, evidencing an intent for total domination over life.

Forensically, it is vital to distinguish offensive from defensive injuries in order to reconstruct the facts. Instrumental aggressors often strike in areas covered by clothing, a pattern known as "bathing suits," to avoid social detection.