According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), around 24.6 million Brazilians are disabled – 14.5% of the population. From this total, 8% are children and teenagers between 0 and 17 years old. Domestic violence (physical and psychological abuse, negligence and sexual harassment) is a reality in many of these cases. Studies show that the vulnerability of these young people is influenced by the great dependence on their relatives and guardians.

For this reason, the families of children and teenagers with any type of disability must be particularly assisted. Acknowledging this need, the Fernandes Figueira Institute (IFF/Fiocruz), with Fiotec’s support, has developed the project “Domestic violence and the children and adolescents with disabilities: a study based on the application of Parent Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC)”.

The purpose of the study is to measure physical and psychological abuse and negligence, as well as non-violent education strategies for the relationship between parents and children/teenagers with any kind of disability. “We will map the support network to these children and teenagers in the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities. We have concluded the first step of the project, which is field work, in which 270 questionnaires were answered, and we are currently organizing these data for discussion and for publishing articles”, explains Olga Bastos, project coordinator.

According to Bastos, the final goal is to create a catalogue for the support network for children and teenagers with disabilities, containing data, reference information and the measures which must be taken.

History

This project comes after the research “Children and Teenagers with Disabilities in Violent Situations in the Metropolitan Region of the State of Rio de Janeiro – an analysis of abuse reports”, also carried out by IFF, which analyzed reports of abuse and/or violation of the rights of children and teenagers at eight Guardianship Councils in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (Ramos, Campos Grande, Duque de Caxias, São Gonçalo, Nova Iguaçu, Belford Roxo, São João de Meriti and Niterói). The research identified the different types of violence suffered and found that 42% of the children and teenagers have had their fundamental rights violated.

Parent Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC)

Created in the United States by the Family Violence Research Program, the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) is an instrument widely used to measure violence in family relationships. CTSPC is the specific version used to measure attacks on children and teenagers by their parents. This evaluation includes three dimensions: non-violent discipline; psychological aggression; and physical violence, classified as physical abuse or severe physical abuse. The instrument was adopted in Brazil in 2003.