Characterization of child sexual violence reports for ages 0 to 9 in Brazil between 2020 and 2023

Abstract

The study aimed to describe the characteristics of reports of child sexual violence involving children aged 0 to 9 years in Brazil between 2020 and 2023. To achieve this, an ecological, cross-sectional, descriptive study with quantitative analysis was conducted using data from the Domestic, Sexual, and/or Other Violence Information System. A total of 44,398 cases were reported. The year 2022 accounted for 40.12% of the occurrences. The majority of victims were between 5 and 9 years old (54.59%), with 79.15% being female and 44.38% of mixed race. The most common type of violence was rape (61.84%), primarily perpetrated by friends/acquaintances (32.63%) and fathers (27.05%), occurring in residences (73.25%), with repeated incidents in 35.42% of cases. Therefore, the engagement of professionals to identify marks, injuries, and acute symptoms, as well as the provision of mental health support and investigation of chronic complaints, is considered important. Additionally, health education actions for parents, guardians, the community, and children are essential.