Special Week on Epidemiology and Health Services 2024
References
- 20 Years of Trans Visibility in Brazil – Towards a More Diverse and Accessible Unified Health System
- Self-assessment of health in Manaus reveals inequalities and food insecurity.
- Multimorbidity and use of health services among Brazilians
- Perineal laceration occurs in almost half of postpartum women in Brazil.
- What is known about the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?
- Vaccination against Covid-19 reduces the risk of death, especially after booster doses.
- Correlations between internet searches for hookah and the prevalence of use among young people in Brazil.
- Reports of violence against children increased in Brazil between 2011 and 2019.
- Hospitalization costs for diabetes increased in Brazil between 2011 and 2019.
- GOLDHAGEN, JL, et al. Rights, justice, and equity: a global agenda for child health and wellbeing. Lancet Child Adolescent Health [online]. 2020, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 80-90 [viewed 12 April 2024]. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(19)30346-3 . Available from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(19)30346-3/
- HILLIS, S., et al . Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: a systematic review and minimum estimates. Pediatrics. 2016, vol. 137, no. 3, e20154079 [viewed 12 April 2024]. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-4079 . Available from: https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/137/3/e20154079/81439/Global-Prevalence-of-Past-year-Violence-Against
- World Health Organization (WHO). Ending violence against children through health systems strengthening and multisectoral approaches [online]. Geneva: WHO, 2022 [viewed 12 April 2024]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB152/B152_21-en.pdf
Alberto Madeiro, Associate Editor of Epidemiology and Health Services: SUS Journal (RESS), Professor at the State University of Piauí, Teresina, PI, Brazil.
All forms of interpersonal violence are a significant violation of human rights. Both in terms of its magnitude and its devastating consequences in childhood and adulthood, violence against children plays a sadly prominent role globally. Estimates from 96 countries showed that approximately 1 billion children aged 2 to 17 had already suffered some type of violence in the year prior to the survey. The negative repercussions on physical and mental health in childhood are well known, as are risky behaviors, such as alcohol and illicit drug abuse, in adulthood.
The article “Notifications of physical, sexual, psychological violence and neglect against children in Brazil, 2011-2019: an ecological time series study” , published in vol. 32, no. 3 (2023), of the journal Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde: revista do SUS (RESS), advances by analyzing the temporal trend of notifications of the four types of violence against children up to 9 years of age throughout the country. The study, conducted by Letícia Sartori and collaborators from the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), compiled cases reported in the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) between 2011 and 2019.
Image: Freepik .
There were 88,820 reported cases of physical violence, 87,141 of sexual violence, 52,359 of psychological violence, and 166,664 of neglect. There was an increasing trend for all types of violence in Brazil, regardless of gender. Furthermore, the Northeast and Southeast regions also showed an increasing trend for all four types of violence. In turn, the reporting rates for neglect and sexual violence showed the largest increases in the country for the period evaluated.
The authors consider that, in certain cultures, there is a “naturalization of corporal and verbal punishment as a parental educational practice,” and this may be related to the underreporting of cases by health professionals, particularly in less severe cases of physical and psychological violence. On the other hand, situations of “neglect and sexual violence tend not to be passively viewed by health professionals,” which would increase reporting. Rightly, they also highlight that “significant increases in reports of sexual violence against boys and girls reinforce the need to target anti-violence campaigns towards both sexes.”
From any perspective, these results are alarming. Even more so when considering that underreporting of violent episodes against children is common. Generally, the health system captures cases that require medical assistance, often the most serious and recurring cases. Despite the almost endemic magnitude of violence against children, evidence shows that such aggression is preventable. Multisectoral efforts, including health, education, and justice services, are necessary to offer children the future they deserve.