This study aimed to characterize the types of child abuse and interventional strategies in the municipality of Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro state, through the analysis of patient records from the Specialized Reference Center for Social Care - CREAS, between 2008 and 2012. Two hundred-ten records were identified and all information contained therein was considered to trace the profile of the subjects involved, the characterization of violence, and the interventions adopted. A descriptive analysis of frequency of data collected was performed. The results show that sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect were the types of violence most often reported, altogether representing 29.0% of the records analyzed. The offenders were mostly male, aged 31-40 years and the victims were mostly female, aged 14-18 years. The socioeconomic condition of the families was poor, with many of them (24.3%) living on an income of up to the minimum wage. As interventional measures, the victims were referred to individual psychotherapy (23.3%) and the offenders were referred to psychosocial services (28.7%). We conclude that, through the knowledge of such abuse in the municipality, the design of effective prevention and victim assistance programs can be structured.
Keywords:
domestic violence; child abuse; social assistance