Children, girls, and adolescents as victims of violence: data from a healthcare provider

Abstract

Introduction: violence against Children, Girls, and Adolescents (CGA) is a growing problem worldwide. Our country is no exception to this reality. The figures provided by the 2024 SIPIAV report are alarming: more than 24 situations daily and more than 7 new situations per day. The healthcare system plays a fundamental role in the prevention, detection, and assistance of these situations. In response to this reality, Gender and Generational-Based Violence Reference Teams (ErVBGG) were created within healthcare institutions.
Objectives: to describe the situations of violence against CGA received and assisted by an ErVBGG in an ASSE health provider (Hospital Cerro) in Montevideo that until now had no systematized data.
Methodology: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between June 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025. All cases received and assisted by the ErVBGG involving users aged 0–18 years were analyzed. The variables analyzed were age, sex, and type of violence. Regarding the latter, classification is difficult, as CGA are generally affected by several types of violence simultaneously; in this case, we recorded the primary type of violence that prompted the referral to the team. Within the sexual violence variable, we analyzed: sex, age, whether the situation was intra- or extra-domiciliary, and whether the situations were single or recurrent. Data were obtained from electronic medical records and interviews with families. Absolute frequencies and relative percentage frequencies were calculated. The median was used as the measure of central tendency.
Results: in one year of work, 60 CGA (0–18 years of age) were assisted. Sixty percent of the situations were referred from the healthcare system, 13% from socio-educational institutions, and 15% from the justice system. Seventy percent of the CGA were female (FS). Fifty percent were concentrated in the 6 to 12-year age range, with a median of 9.5 years. When analyzing the types of violence, sexual violence was the main reason for referral to the ErVBGG, representing 38% of the assisted situations. In these cases, 83% of the victims were FS and all perpetrators were male. In 44% of the CGA, the perpetrator lived with the victim and/or was a close relative. Seventy-four percent were recurrent situations. Regarding where the disclosure originated, 44% were reported at home, 22% in a healthcare institution, and 17% in an educational institution. Of the assisted situations, 67% were under or had entered legal proceedings at the time of the intervention.
Conclusions: these are the first systematized data on the ErVBGG in an ASSE health provider (Hospital Cerro) in Montevideo. They coincide with other publications where most situations are chronic, concentrated in school age, victims are mostly FS, and perpetrators are male, cohabitants, or relatives. These data show that the healthcare system still has much to do in the prevention, detection, and assistance of CGA to prevent their rights from continuing to be violated.