Documentary study of reports of sexual violence against children and adolescents

Abstract

This study identified characteristics in the notifications related to sexual violence (SV) against girls and boys registered in the Violence and Accidents Monitoring System (VIVA; SINAN/NET) of the city of João Pessoa, between 2017 and 2020. This was a documental, descriptive and cross-sectional study. A total of 255 notifications were analyzed. The data showed that the majority of the notified cases were related to pre-adolescents, of mixed race and female. Most of the notifications reported only one incident. The overall case shows that the abuse took place in the home, with a male abuser, being the victim’s boyfriend. The time that elapsed between the incident and disclosing was longer in the cases of adolescents [t(253)=-2,75, p=.001]; and rapes were more observed against girls (χ2=12.305/df=4, p=.015). There was a tendency for repetition when the rape occurred in the home χ2(30)=178.74, (p<.001). The cases were referred to various protection agencies, however, there was no close collaboration and coordination between the notifying organizations.