Sexual violations against children grow by almost 70% in Brazil

Subtle signs such as aggression, lack of appetite and social isolation can indicate that something is wrong in the life of a child or adolescent. This is what the pedagogue and director of a school in Brasilia, Carol Cianni, says. Sexual abuse is one of the causes of behavior like this and the growth of this type of crime in Brazil is frightening. In the first three months of this year alone, 17,500 sexual violations against children or adolescents were registered by Dial 100. The data is from the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship and points to an increase of almost 70% compared to the same period in 2022. This Wednesday (17), the National Day to Combat Abuse and Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, the federal government is conducting several awareness campaigns on the subject. How to identify that a child or adolescent is suffering some type of sexual violence? More important than that is knowing how to guide young people on how to defend themselves in this type of situation. Prevention Carol Cianni points out that the family and the school play a fundamental role in prevention. For her, taking the theme to the classroom in a light and assertive way, explaining that the body is something intimate and sacred, helps the students to understand. She also says that the school needs to be aware of any change in student behavior in order to intervene quickly. “At school, teachers observe everything: how the child plays, how he eats, how he lays down to relax at rest time and how he relates to his classmates. So, we have a close observation of all the details of the child’s behavior so that we can help her. That’s because the little ones’ cries for help come in a very subtle way”, she explains. Alert Psychologist Caroline Brilhante says that most abuses against children and adolescents are committed by people close to the victim and in environments known to the family. Therefore, it is important to always be alert. She stresses that monitoring and restricting internet access can prevent children from exposing themselves to risk situations. “One of the ways to prevent is to restrict the child’s screen time [na internet] and even teenagers. Implement filters to access content that is outside the age range. Pay attention to the behavior of the child or young person in relation to sex, because the sudden interest in the subject can indicate a problem”, he points out. via Dial 100.

Agência Brasil