Abstract
The aim of this paper is to specify and investigate the types of negligence practiced on families in the context of healthcare that are considered to be insufficient or inappropriate for children and adolescents. These reflections are part of a previous study that analyzed how the concept of negligence is defined and applied in Brazilian academic studies, and indicated that a large part of the cases of negligence practiced against children is attributed to the sphere of the family. This present discussion seeks to consider families in their plurality. It is a qualitative study made from an interpretative anthropological point of view. The results indicate that there are accusatory labels, and serious omissions in relation to the configurations of families – underlining the complexity of defining a situation as negligence: families can reproduce, practice, or suffer negligence.
Families; Children; Negligence; Child negligence; Domestic violence