Meanings Attributed by Adolescents to Intrafamily Sexual Violence and Assistance in the Judiciary

Significados Atribuídos por Adolescentes à Violência Sexual Intrafamiliar e Atendimento no Judiciário

Significados Atribuidos por los Adolescentes a la Violencia Sexual intrafamiliar y la Asistencia en el Poder Judicial

Abstract

The aim was to know and analyze the meanings of intrafamily sexual violence experienced and the Court support for adolescents who underwent the questioning. A qualitative research study through semi-structured interviews and free observation with nine adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years old, in a specific Court of Childhood and Youth. Data was analyzed using the technique of content analysis, with “Distance and negative”, and “Secondary victimization” pointed out. First, by signifying the intrafamily sexual violence suffered, the adolescent presents memory lapses about what happened, and it shows a wide spectrum of detrimental effects of intrafamily sexual violence. Secondly, it shows that the intervention of the Judiciary Branch has caused secondary victimization, gaps in care, and reproduction of power relationships. It was concluded on the importance to articulate a children and adolescents rights guaranteeing system, considering the new social frameworks, as well as the issue of human development.

Keywords:
adolescence; sex offenses; psychology; justice

Resumo

A violência sexual é aquela que mais reações provoca nos profissionais que atuam na esfera forense, entretanto ainda são frágeis as estratégias que contribuem para minimizar o sofrimento das vítimas. O objetivo deste estudo foi conhecer e analisar os significados da violência sexual intrafamiliar vivenciada e seu atendimento durante as inquirições no sistema de justiça na perspectiva dos adolescentes inquiridos. Trata-se de estudo qualitativo mediante entrevista semiestruturada e observação livre com nove adolescentes realizada em vara específica da Infância e Juventude. Os dados foram analisados a partir da técnica de análise de conteúdo. O adolescente apresenta lapsos de memória, e sofre vitimização secundária, lacunas no atendimento e reprodução de relações de poder no Judiciário. Aponta-se a importância de uma articulação de um sistema de garantia de direitos a crianças e adolescentes, considerando-se os novos marcos sociais, bem como a questão do desenvolvimento humano.

Palavras-chave:
adolescência; agressões sexuais; psicologia; justiça

Resumen

El objetivo fue conocer y analizar los significados de la violencia sexual intrafamiliar vivida y la asistencia del tribunal para los adolescentes que se sometieron a la averiguación. Investigación cualitativa a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas y observación libre con nueve adolescentes, realizada en una jurisdicción específica de la Infancia y Juventud. Los datos se analizaron recurriendo a la técnica de análisis de contenido, se señalaron “Desapego y negación” y “Victimización secundaria”. En la primera, al significar la violencia sufrida, el adolescente presenta fallos de memoria sobre lo que sucedió, y evidencia un amplio espectro de efectos perjudiciales de la violencia. La segunda muestra que la intervención del Poder Judicial ha causado victimización secundaria, brechas en la atención y reproducción de relaciones de poder. Señala la importancia de articular un sistema de garantía de los derechos de la niñez y la adolescencia, considerando los nuevos marcos sociales, así como el tema del desarrollo humano.

Palabras clave:
adolescencia; delitos sexuales; psicología; justicia

Sexual violence is considered by the Word Health Organization (2016) as any sexual act or attempt, comment or unwanted attack, and sexual coercion, regardless of the relationship with the victim and the context, even at home or at work, characterized by sexual violence involving penetration, sexual violence by contact and sexual violence without contact.

With a broad spectrum, violence can be conceptualized from its multiple roots, among which we can highlight violence of a self-inflicted, psychological, and sexual nature, through negligence and abandonment; and refer them to the various forms of violation of rights. In Brazil, Law No. 13,431 (2017) establishes the system for guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents who are victims or witnesses of violence, and amends Law No. 8,069, of July 13^th, 1990 - Statute of Children and Adolescents. However, the legal provisions that ensure protection, opportunities and practicalities in the text of the law for adolescents to live without violence do not attain such guarantees, as the statistical figures denounce alarming rates of violence suffered by this segment, even considering the efforts of the Union, the States, the Federal District and the municipalities with the development of integrated policies in order to protect them from all forms of violence, whether through negligence, discrimination, exploitation, abuse, cruelty and/or oppression, often within the family.

As Romanelli (2016) argued, regardless of any type of training, the family is made up of people who maintain personal relationships with each other, unlike formal relationships, where they happen in the public environment. This bond provides greater opportunity for expression within the domestic context; on the other hand, the individuals show peculiar behaviors, with particular wants and desires, from a hierarchical structure and, at times, conflicting; overriding factors can influence the issues when they concern the individual interests and the collective interests of the family.

Even though family backgrounds have diversified over the years, violence within the family has still marked its presence through the action or omission of the adult in relation to the child and/or adolescent (Ribeiro & Martins, 2004). In 2014, 50,634 notifications of violence against adolescents were registered, of which 17,886 were male and 32,748 were female. In female-related notifications, sexual violence emerges predominantly, with the perpetrator being someone known to the victim, configuring intrafamily violence in most cases (Ministry of Health, 2017).

The analysis of the literature regarding the question does not consider its specificity, highlighting papers focusing on the theme of prevention or violation of rights in the investigation of victims (Azambuja, 2017; Barros & Freitas, 2015; Brito & Parente, 2012). Thus, the state of the art is not very useful in a discussion that is of significant importance, finding studies in which they approach this debate in a tenuous manner (Malta, Bernal, Teixeira, Silva & Freitas, 2017; Moreira & Sousa, 2012; Platt, Back, Hauschild & Guedert, 2018). In a search conducted at the Virtual Health Library on July 20^th, 2020, with the keywords “forensic psychology” and “sexual violence” and “child or adolescent”, 24 articles published in the last 5 years were found, none of which addressed the question of children and adolescents victims of violence from the perspective of these actors.

When considering the child as a subject within a legal process, the behavioral analyses and expectations about the future of these children are evaluated by a group of professionals, among them: physicians, social workers, psychologists and sociologists, subordinate to their sources of study. These sources and the processes that surround the child still operate under the direct influence of the scientific argument of the lawyer and the prosecutor (Freitas, 2016).

Sexual violence is the one that causes the most reactions in the professionals working in the forensic sphere, under the aegis of moral indignation (Roque, Ferriani, Gomes, Silva & Carlos, 2014). Despite this feeling, the strategies that contribute to minimize the suffering of the victims are still fragile. For this reason, we justify the choice of this type of violence for the composition of this study, whose relevance includes the visibility of the Justice System as a specific power structure of the legal system, which, when dealing with children and adolescents in situations of sexual violence, can be affecting their development.

We justify this choice in the search to deepen a theme that we consider to be quite incipient, asking questions to be better understood. This situation points out necessary articulations with the different existing conjunctural roles, and in the implementation of actions detailed by national plans and systems, always in favor of guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents.

In the judiciary system, inquiry is a term used in the code of criminal procedure as an action or effect of inquiring, asking questions, detailed inquiry; rigorous research; inquiry, in the case of a questionnaire for the witness who, made by a competent authority, seeks to ascertain the characteristics of a fact he witnessed. The investigation of children and adolescents in criminal cases was used in the court of law until the advent of Law No. 13,431, of April 4^th, 2017, which established the system for guaranteeing the rights of the child and adolescent victim or witness of violence and amended Law No. 8,069, of July 13^th, 1990, referring to the Statute of Children and Adolescents. This inquiry aimed to ascertain the existence of sexual violence and the production of evidence of authorship and materiality in the face of scarce elements in procedural instruction, in order to obtain the condemnation or absolution of the perpetrator of violence. In this way, there was a strong responsibility for these interviewed subjects for which they were not prepared. This new legislation considered the peculiar conditions of children and adolescents as people in development, creating, among others, specialized listening and Special Testimony. The first deals with an interview procedure on the situation of violence with a child or adolescent before a body in the protection network, limiting the report strictly to what is necessary for the fulfillment of its purpose. The Special Testimony is the procedure of hearing a child or adolescent victim or witness of violence before police or judicial authorities. Both must be performed using specific protocols.

Although the performance of the Judiciary System, allied to the Public Ministry, can be considered one of the most advanced in the Brazilian reality, by internally reproducing power relationships and the values of society itself, they end up generating, through their bureaucratic mechanisms, a type of violence against children and adolescents who should be given special attention. Even considering Law No. 13,431 (2017) from which the Presidency of the Court of Justice of the State of São Paulo (Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de São Paulo, TJSP) defined the training of psychologists and judicial social workers as specialists for carrying out the Special Testimony (CG Provision No. 17/2018/ Process No. 2018/59790, Opinion 369/2018-J). The way in which the child or adolescent perceives and gives meaning to the influence of that moment goes beyond its objective characteristics and can cause dysfunction, with regard to a possible manifestation of difficulties in the different areas of development, with possible impacts that need to be better explained, which this study can contemplate.

Thus, the objective was to know and analyze the meanings of the intrafamily sexual violence experienced and its assistance during inquiries in the justice system, from the perspective of the interviewed adolescents. It is noteworthy that the word inquiry was used in this study as this procedure was in effect until the date of its realization.

Method

Participants

The participants of this research were nine adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years old. For this, we adopted the qualitative approach, an alternative that allowed us to understand the reality expressed by the intrafamily violence suffered, the domestic environment and the environment of the Justice System. According to Minayo (2014), qualitative research is that applied to the study of history, as well as relationships, representations, beliefs, perceptions and opinions, the result of the interpretations that individuals make about their way of life, feelings and ideas.

The field of study was the Court of Justice, in a district installed in a specific municipality of São Paulo, where it served children and adolescents victims of intrafamily sexual violence. The districts are classified in terms of entrances and have specific courts within the judicial structure, with the purpose of appreciating the process, that is, a set of acts legally ordered to ascertain fact and authorship and exact application of the law.

In addition to lawyers, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the staff of Justice officials, called serventuaries, are the magistrates, along with their assistants, who make up the courts and tribunals, based in each district. The judges are authorized by law to direct the proceedings.

As participants in this research, we elected a return visit to children and adolescents who suffered intrafamily sexual violence, treated in a specific district. The sample was composed based on the following inclusion criteria: (i) selection of the district, due to the fact that studies on violence against children and adolescents were carried out in this area, where the incidence of processes that deal with occurrences of sexual violence were thoroughly researched, with the possibility of observing the issue with greater amplitude; (ii) considered the authorization for research by the district. Collection took place between March 25^th, 2015 and March 25^th, 2016. It should be noted that a considerable period from the inquiry to the interview was ethically considered, and the participating adolescents were subjected to the judicial procedure between 07/01/2011 and 06/20/2012.

Of the selected individuals, one could not receive the protocol of invitation to participate in the research for being in prison situation, after coming of age. We understand that the others would be enough to answer the research questions. Thus, nine agreed to participate in the research, by means of the parents and/or guardians signing the Free and Informed Consent Form, and the proper Assent Form by the adolescents. Of those surveyed, five are male and four are female, aged between 13 and 17 years and ten months old, with their respective schooling: four with incomplete elementary school, four with incomplete high school, and one with complete high school, considering that six dropped out school and three were still studying. Guaranteed the right to anonymity and privacy, the participants were identified by the sequence of A1, A2, A3 to A9, as they participated in data collection.

Instruments

Script of the semi-structured interview. Semi-structured interviews start from questions, generally guided by a script, which direct a conversation with a defined purpose (Minayo, 2014). In the case of the present study, the semi-structured interviews were carried out by establishing a previous script of questions based on the study object, the theme, and the literature on research methodology. The guiding questions were the following: (1) What do you remember about the violent events you were a victim of? (2) What are your thoughts on the trauma experienced and how do you feel about the treatment you received at the time in the forum? (3) How do you mean, today, the intra-family sexual violence suffered?

Procedure

Data collection. The interviews were conducted in the participants’ current homes, and recorded on audio media, with the mean duration of the interviews being 40 to 50 minutes each. The interviews were conducted by the first author, who had no relationship with the participating adolescents. She had technical experience with the population under study, as she had worked as a social worker in the Court of Childhood and Youth for 20 years.

It should be noted that the sample did not seek to privilege numerical representativeness, but to deepen the theme and comprehensiveness of the researched group, victims of intrafamily sexual violence, children and adolescents, considered by the Law, individuals in a special stage of development.

In addition to the interviews, free observation was performed. Observation is a technique that allows for detailed descriptions of places, objects, situations, interactions, bringing the researcher closer to contexts and people, being considered increasingly important in the field work (P. R. M. Santos, Araujo & Bellato, 2016). The observations were recorded in a field diary that provided subsidies for the description and analysis of the object studied.

Data analysis. For data analysis we used the content analysis technique, thematic modality (Bardin, 2016). This modality consists of discovering the nuclei of meaning that make up a communication, whose presence means something for the intended analytical objective. Once the axes around which the content expressed by the interviewed subjects were discovered, themes were defined, which served to classify and understand the statements in general.

Categorization was structured by means of an operation to classify the constituent elements of a set, by differentiation and then by regrouping, according to gender (analogy), with the previously defined criteria. The resulting categories give rise to rubrics or classes in the present study, which bring together a group of elements, units of record, arising from the analysis of content under generic titles, these grouped by reason of the common characters of their elements.

For each material, for each code or for each content found, a supplementary sense was indicated, helping to clarify the syntax or grammar that was superimposed on the syntax or grammar known from the code.

The analysis was no longer concerned with the vocabulary, lexicon or semantic or thematic repertoire of the message, but with the underlying principles of organization, the systems of relationships, the directing schemes, the rules of chaining, association, exclusion and equivalence to the organized aggregates. Relationships were made where they structure the elements (signs or meanings) in invariant or independent ways.

Ethical Considerations

The ethical aspects were conformed in faithful compliance with Resolution No. 466/2012, proposed by the National Health Council (Ministry of Health, 2013), for dealing with the guidelines and regulatory standards for research involving human beings (Opinion No. 998.344, CAAE No. 39116714.0.0000.5393).

Results and Discussion

The results herein presented emerged from the adolescents’ statements and were grouped into two categories.

Distancing and denial

The participants of this research brought in their speeches the possible memories of the trauma suffered, placing them in a plane of distancing from the conscious, pointing out not remembering the occurrences, or showing related memory lapses.

With a focus on the sexual violence suffered and on the legal procedures, we can verify the complexity and importance of this theme; firstly, in the debates on comprehensive protection for children and adolescents, we had not yet had the opportunity to approach this content, which points to a diversity of feelings expressed by the adolescents, through memory lapses; the feeling herein considered expresses and brings together, in the same person, anguish, abandonment, fear and even guilt. International research studies indicate that experiencing and/or witnessing violence increases the chances of these people having depressive symptoms. The authors Carrascosa, Cava and Buelga (2016) draw the attention to the fact that home violence of parents against their children causes feelings of loneliness and difficulty in relating to third parties. In addition, other problems are mentioned, such as: difficulty in cognitive development, heart ischemia, and chronic lung disease, among others (Barros & Freitas, 2015).

What I remember about the violent events that I was a victim of, in fact, I don’t remember much of what happened to me, or... I remember very little, it was something I was not to blame, it seems that there’s a cloud in my memory, but I know that something very bad happened to me, like having gone through a tsunami, as it appeared on TV, that sea of water that comes suddenly and you drown forever, you die without even knowing why (A1).

The memory lapse presented can tell about serious physical and psychological harms in the victim’s development. Studies that address such focuses, produced in the health area, are still incipient. A sense of helplessness is perceived in the victim’s last speech, signaling that his struggle for survival is no longer present, as the word death has crossed the edge of the victim’s physical and mental health, becoming a relevant social and public health problem.

Understanding the consequences of sexual abuse is hard and unsafe work, due to the lack of longitudinal studies and the absence of appropriate control groups. Furniss (1993) and Knutson (1995) quote about the effects of sexual abuse, among which we highlight: Duration of abuse: some evidence suggests that the longer duration produces more negative consequences; The degree of violence: the use of force by the perpetrator results in more negative consequences both in the short- and long-term; The importance of the relationship between abuser and victim: the greater the closeness and intimacy, the worse the consequences.

It is possible to point out several variables in the impact of sexual abuse; however, studies on these effects show some symptoms normally present in the victims, the consequences divided according to age, severity and exposure of the child and adolescent to violence. The harms range from the physical and the emotional, to the cognitive (Barros & Freitas, 2015). A study carried out with 942 adolescents from different contexts on risky and protective behaviors, found that those in institutional care who were victims of violence presented higher correlations between substance use and suicidal behavior (Zappe & Dell’Aglio, 2016).

Describing the meaning of the experience of intrafamily sexual violence for the adolescent requires us, first, to mention the severity of the consequences, although it may speak of comprehensiveness, with some common points in victims, its effects evoke the singularity of the experience. The fact that the adolescents do not show external symptoms does not mean that they do not suffer the effects of that experience, whose content of the answers denounces death in order to live, and the victim of sexual abuse must be considered a person at risk for possible complications arising from the violence suffered and also in their development. In this sense, Barros and Freitas (2015) highlight the risk factors, present at different levels of society, as well as social inequalities, with the production of concrete results and potential for vulnerability, when taking into account the context of violence.

In this research, the word reveals, in the adolescent victim of sexual violence, the frustration of an unstable path and without horizons, even after years of the event; it denounces suffering, emotional disconnection, confusion, insecurity and fear, being likely that the dormant effects of the primary violent environments, previously experienced, have affected the development of such adolescents, as these people have lost the initiative and the will to find new sources of stimulation and support; the word which has best suited them to the current sense regarding the events is death. “It’s something that is already over, I don’t think about it, in fact I don’t think much, I have lived for a while, I have had enough of life for a long time” (A8). Another testimony reinforces this finding, by making the following statement: “The fact that I lost an eye and saw so little is less than having gone through it all, he tore my clothes and left me torn inside and out. I died, so I already lost my life, so, for me, whatever, it’s over” (A4).

But I got a strange feeling, like the undead, from that I was no longer myself, I lost the sense of everything, how can I say, it meant death for me, it seems that I died, a tsunami, if it’s something that I can compare, but it’s something that has no comparison, just even with death, and death you know, it’s silence, just silence, it’s over” (A1).

Secondary victimization

Cases of intrafamily sexual violence against children and adolescents reach the Justice System through the Guardianship Council, Police Station, when sending the police inquiry, or in requests for custody, visits, suspension or removal of family power.

In this way, Furniss (1993) raises a question regarding the attribution of the legal professionals, reporting on the importance of the police and judges, to fulfill their duty according to the specific structure of the legal system. Law No. 8,069 (1990) and the 2002 Civil Code value the child’s opinion. The principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, consolidated in the Brazilian legislation, allow these children to express their opinion regarding the facts directly related to their routine. Law No. 12,650 (2012), of May 17^th, 2012, amends Decree-Law No. 2,848, of December 7^th, 1940 of the Penal Code, in order to modify the rules related to the prescription of crimes committed against children and adolescents. The hypothesis of Article 28, paragraph 1 of the Child and Adolescent Statute, Law No. 8.069 (1990), wording given by Law No. 12,010 (2009) talks about considering the child’s opinion. IN the analysis of the speech content of the adolescents in this research, pertinently to the treatment received in the forum, regarding the situation of sexual violence of which they were victims, they express that they only received questions and were not even introduced to any legal operator, a result observed in the following expressions:

Well... in the forum, when this event that the Tutelary Council gave and everything, they treated me by asking questions, which I didn’t answer, because I didn’t understand anything of what they said. But then, when I became a bandit, and when I went to Fundação Casa, it was hard work for the forum, because they had to force me in, because I screamed, threatened, cursed, kicked, in short, I was the terror of the forum (A4).

I talked, talked, talked in there with so many people, but I didn’t even know what I needed to talk to them for, and told how it had happened, how it had been, and talked, talked, but nobody told me why so many questions, nor of their purposes, I knew that I had talked to the judge, for example, because on the way out my relatives asked, ‘So, how was it there with the judge?’, but he did not introduce himself, in fact, I spoke with so many people, but I don’t know who those people were, but I know they were from the forum because it was inside that they asked me questions (A1).

“Regarding the treatment I received at the time, in the forum, I can say that it was all very strange for me, strange, mediocre and boring people asking questions and more questions and not explaining anything to me” (A3). “I don’t know what the forum is for, I don’t know why I went there, they treated me by asking questions, that’s all” (A6).

The statements indicate that the adolescents who were victims of sexual violence analyze, perceive and give meaning to the influence of that moment in the environment, as a place for questions, going beyond their objective characteristics of clarifying facts; they can also cause dysfunction, in relation to a possible manifestation of difficulties in the different areas of development, with impacts now pointed out. A study carried out with judges on the questioning of children and adolescents who were victims of sexual violence, identified that the models used did not contemplate the development of this surveyed population as, aligned with impotences and limits, lack of preparation and absence of reciprocity in the interaction, with specific form and content in the inquiry, no attention was given to the particularities of childhood and adolescence (Roque et al., 2014). The fact of only asking, from a place of power, causes harms to the victims for not understanding what is happening to them, also hurting their condition as a subject of rights, who did not see contemplation of any information about the procedures they were involved in, nor understanding by the fact of being a victim, once again evidencing the power over them. In addition, the results also evoke beyond the abusive situation suffered; the different interpretations in the place of justice can lead to a secondary victimization process, since the issuance of the report in an unknown and insecure environment can activate the traumatic memory without conditions of reorganizing it.

Therefore, the results point to the fact that there are no effective guarantees for adolescents regarding their total protection, considering the contradictory model of justice. The conditions of the person in development and absolute priority and the possible harms to human development are not considered. A study that worked on the relationship established between the Judiciary and Public Policies, brought up the discussion about the iatrogenic and “unnecessary judicialization” of the actions, which could be better resolved in another sphere, as is the proposal of the Special Testimony. The authors also emphasize that the way in which the situation of violence is addressed in the family and in the services; it determines the way that the person will face the problem (Eloy & Constantino, 2012).

The legal devices guide and demand investigative action as an essential part of criminal proceedings. The literature has presented important criticisms to this action carried out in the Judiciary, whether the traditional method performed by the judge of law, or that carried out through other methodologies, with the participation of other professionals, such as the so-called Special Testimony started in 2011 in some Districts of the State of São Paulo and in the other Districts after the advent of Law No. 13,431 (2017). Despite the legal devices dealing with the interrogation of children and adolescents, when they suffer or witness crimes, as a right to be promoted by the Judiciary, it is known that such a procedure emerges for the purposes of investigation and conviction or acquittal of the defendant, aimed at a punitive bias of the perpetrator of the act of violence. In addition, having to repeatedly report the trauma suffered at several times and in the most varied forms can cause secondary harms to the child or adolescent (Brito & Parente, 2012; Brito & Pereira, 2012; Martins & Lima, 2015), which is confirmed by this research. The same study that verified the perception of Judiciary workers about the Special Testimony demonstrated that the interviewer’s autonomy is dependent on their context and work partners. Despite having the function of proving the fact and protection, it is still necessary and challenging to build and improve the method (Pelisoli & Dell’Aglio, 2016).

The literature evidences the importance of articulating the services in a system of guaranteeing rights, despite showing that there is no articulation between services and professionals from different sectors, and so they do not act in an organized and articulated manner (Carlos et al., 2019 ; Egry, Apostolic, Morais & Lisboa, 2017; Ramos & Silva, 2011; Velloso, Araújo & Alves, 2011). As stated by Bittencourt (2017), a network is made up of independent partners in their assignments, but dependent on their partnerships. A network of partners together and integrated is a space for debates and resolutions, a place of listening where one is heard, a place of production of practical results and agreed upon by all.

The study in question points to a disregard for the victim in the Judiciary place, since 100% of the interviewees asserted that they did not know the reasons why they were in the forensic facilities, as well as nobody in that space introduced themselves to any of them, although they asked many questions, configuring power relationships, a very urgent challenge in the face of the theme, requiring changes in paradigms related to concepts and practices.

In this direction, data brought by B.R. Santos, Gonçalves and Vasconcelos (2014) demonstrate that children and adolescents victims of intrafamily sexual abuse, during their passage through the judiciary, make the appropriate statements and then are dismissed without further clarification of the process that involves them. Importance is given to the previous evaluations (social and psychological) as an integral action of the initial protocol for the realization of the special testimony; however, more qualified reflections regarding the execution of the procedure by the Social Assistants and Judicial Psychologists are necessary, understood by the CJ/SP as specialists in this execution.

In response to our objectives in this research, on the meaning of intrafamily sexual violence experienced by children and adolescents, during their inquiries in the Justice System, we find in the content of the themes, arising from the interviews, a complex multidimensionality of physical, emotional and psychosocial impacts caused for the sexual violence suffered. In the themes, the reports are permeated by reactions of hostility, anxiety, feelings of isolation, abuse of alcohol and other drugs, low self-esteem, practice of infractions, little interest in usual social activities and studies, and difficulty in trusting the other, in addition to memory lapses.

Thus, it is possible to make claims that the adolescents who were victims of sexual violence were affected in their continuity of naturalness in that immediate environment with psychological and social consequences, and meaning violence with a word aligned with the word death is more than suicidal ideation if thought of in this phase of life essential for the development of the adolescent, in an understanding characterized by the urgency in the subsidies of care and monitoring of these individuals.

The victims brought the judicial process itself as an integral part of their suffering. The theme evokes a meaning, whose content perceived by the adolescent is much more in control by the Judiciary than in the care and protection described in guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents. Asking translates properties of a justice whose systems consist of means of selective and unequal reproduction of operators and behaviors, supported by legal positivism. In this way, in contradiction with the concept of comprehensive protection, care for these subjects becomes fragmented, exposing them to new vulnerabilities, including those related to human development, where integral health is not observed.

Even considering the importance of the study findings, we point out limitations regarding the plurality of issues involving victims or witnesses of crimes, requiring future research studies with such a focus. We point out the importance of articulating a system of guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents, considering the new social frameworks, as well as the issue of human development. Thus, reflecting the limits and extent of these results is of fundamental importance to influence theoretical-methodological and ethical-political competence, inside and outside the judiciary system.

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Edited by

Associate editor:

Wanderlei Abadio de Oliveira

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  22 Mar 2021
• Date of issue
  2021

History

• Received
  11 Feb 2020
• Reviewed
  06 Sept 2020
• Accepted
  13 Oct 2020