Language Codes and Production of Meanings in Emergency Calls of Domestic Violence

Violence against women is a world spread phenomenon. Even in moderns Western societies domestic violence is transversely present and affects not only lower classes, as it could be believed, but also women of upper-middle classes, different culture backgrounds and origins. The emergence call is a crucial mechanism to assist women when there is an aggression.  For instance, these calls have been centralized in call centres (112) in Catalonia since 2007. Professionals of this service have structured violence situations into codes with institutional meaning. We are wondering how this service is implemented, the different actors involved, which are the proceedings to decide that the woman is in danger. Structuring codes implies to produce meaning for the different agencies involved (police, health services, woman agencies…). I.e. how codes should be used to measure and the efficiency of the service, in terms of the response to the emergency and its quality. Even though Catalonia is one of the regions which has increase the most the number of denounces (Informe anual del observatorio estatal de violencia, 2007), there is still a debate among professionals about whether is better denounce or not. That is due to the fact that it implies a double victimization for women. Therefore, it is important to denounce in the following hours or day after the aggression, in which case this service has an important role in the process and achievement of the goal: the security of women.