Violence against children and adolescent: breaking the silence

Abstract

This is a descriptive exploratory study of qualitative approach, which aims to identify situations of violence experienced by children and adolescents in a public school community in Santo Amaro, Recife-PE. The study involved 58 middle school children and adolescents. An interview form was assigned with speech registrations, subsidizing the construction of the fol­lowing categories: 1 – situations that children and adolescents wouldn’t like to have experienced; 2 -Children and adolescents expectations and wishes for the future. Among the situations that young people would not like to have experienced, the fol­lowing items were identified: intra-family violence; situations of exclusion; interpersonal violence and death; early sexual initiation and sexual violence. As for future expectations and wishes of children and adolescents it was shown the desire for a future with changes in their neighborhood by reducing violence. They also long for the possibility of getting training and professional performance which represent a social status disconnected to the image of marginalization which is part of the daily life of the surrounding area.