ABSTRACT
Objective:
The objective of this study is to identify practices that silence domestic violence from the discourse of professionals who work in children and adolescent protection services.
Method:
This is a qualitative study, carried out with fifteen professionals, being six nurses, two psychologists, two physicians, two community health agents, two child protective council workers, and one social worker. The data were collected between November 2013 and March 2015, using semi-structured interviews. For the process of organization, analysis, and interpretation of the data, we used a theoretical matrix built from Institutional Ethnography, and the technique of analysis used was the textual discourse.
Results:
We have identified three categories: the reductionist action in relation to the domestic violence against children and adolescents; referrals as the transfer of the responsibility to protect; and, the exclusion of the aggressor from the intervention process.
Conclusion:
The practices developed by the professionals of this study can contribute to the recurrence of domestic violence against children and adolescents, highlighting the weaknesses of the services that make up the child and youth protection network. Therefore, this study proposes to reflect on new ways of acting against domestic violence, in order to ensure that children and adolescents have their rights guaranteed.
DESCRIPTORS:
Domestic violence; Child; Adolescent; Nursing; Professional practice