The urban violence against children and adolescents in Belo Horizonte: a story told through the maxillofacial traumas

• Published in: Physis (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Vol. 21; no. 3; p. 1103
• Main Authors: Carlos José de Paula Silva, Efigênia Ferreira e Ferreira, Liliam Pacheco Pinto de Paula, Marcelo Drummond Naves, Duarte Vargas, Andreia Maria, Patricia Maria Pereira Araujo Zarzar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Rio de Janeiro Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Medicina Social 01-01-2011
• ISSN: 0103-7331; 1809-4481
• DOI: 10.1590/S0103-73312011000300018

The maxillofacial traumas resulting from violence against children and adolescents have physical and psychical impact on their lives, because of the deformities and the injuries on their faces. This study aims to identify the prevalence of maxillofacial traumas in children and adolescents caused by urban violence in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The study was conducted at Hospital Municipal Odilon Behrens, the primary reference hospital in this type of care in Belo Horizonte. We collected records of victims attended between January and December 2007. Among children and adolescents, the most recurring violence event was physical aggression, 44,2% and 64.7% respectively. Among children, the most common type was the dental-alveolar trauma (53.8%), while among adolescents, soft tissues trauma (47.5%). The highest number of occurrences was at night, for both children (84.6%) and adolescents (74.8%). The most victimized gender was masculine, children (63.5%), and adolescents (68.3%). Appropriate strategies to indentify violent events, as well as the aggressor himself, are necessary for planning better protection mechanisms for children and adolescents, since the violence suffered by this group in Brazil, considering the complexity of this stage of life, takes a gloomy picture, deconstructing their development, sociability, and undermining the victims' perspective about themselves and the world around them.