ABSTRACT
The sexual abuse of children and adolescents consists of a risk situation and a violation
of sexual and particular human rights of the person in development. In the attendance to
the victims, the health professionals need to act with instrumental and theoretical
resources that are beyond what undergraduate courses offer. One aimed to analyze the
actions developed by health professionals in the attendance to children and adolescents
who suffered sexual abuse. One aimed to know the meanings attributed by health
professionals to this problem, considering the subjects’ context through the Social
Representations Theory. The institution where the research was conducted was a
pediatric general hospital in the city of Fortaleza – CE. One conducted a qualitative
research and the subjects were 21 health professionals. The data were obtained through
a recorded semi-structured interview, and for analysis and organization, the Collective
Subject Discourse technique was used. The professionals were nurses, doctors, social
workers, psychologists and pedagogues, most of them had never taken any training
about the theme. One noticed that the subjects understand sexual abuse as a violation, a
suffering experience for the children and that has several forms. The identification of
the abuse happens through the signals, specific and non-specific symptoms, through the
suspect starting from the child’s behavior, through the investigation for material prove
and through the child’s report. The conducts after investigation are forwarding inside
the institution, notification to the Guardianship Council, prevention and treatment of the
traumas resulting from the abuse and the care to the child and the adolescent. The
existence of an own routine is noticed by some through the actions of the Mistreatment
Prevention Commission, while others notice the existence of a routine in the hospital in
general and others argue that there is not a routine. The involvement of the categories is
noticed starting from the actions of the Commission. Some subjects do not know how
their category is involved, while others understand that there is not involvement, as
there is not an own routine. The strategy for qualification of the professionals adopted
by the institution is considered as regular, sporadic and non-existent activities. The
attendance in the institution and in the health system is seen as possible starting from
the resources existing in the service, possible from the actions of the Mistreatment
Prevention Commission and hard due to the discredit in the assistance system. The
difficulties identified for the attendance are the lack of emotional preparation of the
professional, the omission of the family and the insufficient structure of the service. The
suggestions to enhance the professionals’ actions in the theme are the preparation of the
professionals and the enhancement of the service’s structure. One concludes that the
health professionals in the service researched show difficulties for the attendance
concerning the preparation, structure of the services and articulation of the health and
intersection systems. It is necessary to empower the Commission, create rules and
attendance routines, to plan trainings about sexual abuse and other forms of violence
against children and adolescents and implement partnerships with similar institutions,
aiming to form nets.
Keywords: Child Sexual Mistreatment, Children, Adolescent, Children and
Adolescent’s Defense, Children’s Well-being.