Read, understand, and report the sexual abuse of children and adolescents in Brazil.
1 – Numbers
In 2015 and 2016, the number of sexual complaints received 37,000 reports of the crime of sexual abuse of minors, most of them girls. In 2016, most of the complaints relate to crimes of sexual abuse (72%) and sexual exploitation (20%). Other links were related to other violations such as child pornography, sexting, grooming, sexual exploitation in tourism, rape.(*1)
2 – The victims’ profile
About 67.7% of children and young people who are sexually abused and exploited are girls. The boys represent 16.52% of the victims. The cases in which the gender of the child was not reported totaled 15.79%.
Age data show that 40% of the cases were for children aged 0 to 11 years. The ages of 12 to 14 years and 15 to 17 years correspond, respectively, to 30.3% and 20.09% of the complaints.
3 – Profile of the aggressors
On the other hand, the profile of the aggressor shows men (62.5%) and adults between 18 and 40 years (42%) as the main authors of the reported cases.
According to a survey conducted by the Hospital das Clínicas de São Paulo (USP), 88% of sexually abused children were molested by family members or people close to the family. Out of ten, four were victims of their own fathers and three of their stepfathers (*2)
4 – Report it
Always report any kind of aggression to the authorities.
(*1) http://www.brasil.gov.br/cidadania-e-justica/2017/05/dia-nacional-contra-abuso-sexual-de-criancas-e-jovens-e-celebrado-nesta-quinta-18. Access: 21/05/2018.
(*2) http://www.veja.abril.com.br/brasil/de-cada-dez-criancas-abusadas-sexualmente-quatro-sao-vitimas-do-pai-diz-estudo/. Access: 21/05/2018.
