How to act when seeing a child at risk, attacked or abused by the family?

Unfortunately, there are many cases of children attacked and abused by the family or in situations where the risk of this happening is obviously considered very high by those around them. A story that moved Brazil was that of the boy Bernardo Boldrini, killed in April 2014 by his stepmother and a friend of hers, with the complicity of the boy’s father and that friend’s brother, in Rio Grande do Sul. The trial was closed and the sentences announced only in March 2019.

A network of family members and friends around Bernardo was not able to prevent the barbaric crime from being committed, although all legal mechanisms were available and some of the people even took action.

“There are certain human behaviors that are impossible to predict. No delegate, no social worker could have imagined that the boy’s father and the other people would do that, and even Bernardo’s testimonies ended up being inconsistent. It’s the imponderable”, says Charles Bicca, a lawyer specializing in family law, author of the book “Affective Abandonment – The duty of care and civil responsibility for abandoning children” and co-author of the book “Pedophilia – Repression of crimes of sexual violence against children and teenagers”.

Unpredictable or not, it is impossible not to keep the question in the mind of those who followed the case and would like to at least try to prevent something similar from happening: what to do when you see a child at risk or being the victim of aggression and/or abuse by parents? family members or very close people?

Charles and lawyer Luiza Valeri, specialist in family law and conflict mediation at Machado Rodante Advocacia, showed us the way. Come with us!

Dial 100: the first report of child abuse can be made by telephone

Anyone, even if they are not related or close to the family – a neighbor, for example – can and should report situations of risk or aggression and/or abuse suffered by children and adolescents.

According to article 245 of the Statute of the Child and Adolescent (law 8069/90), it is a crime “to let the doctor, teacher or person responsible for health care and elementary education establishments, preschools or day care centers communicate to the competent authority the cases of which it is aware, involving suspected or confirmed mistreatment against a child or adolescent”. The penalty is a fine of three to twenty reference wages – a penalty that doubles in case of recidivism.

The first step can be taken by telephone, through Dial 100, the whistleblower hotline. The calls are completely confidential and the identity of the complainant is never revealed under any circumstances. The number is valid for the entire Brazilian territory.

From the complaint, the case is forwarded within 24 hours to the competent authorities, which are usually the Tutelary Council or the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Reporting child abuse can also be done in person.

If you think that over the phone, with the 24-hour grace period, you are wasting time, you can go in person to the nearest Tutelary Council. Another alternative is to go to a Police Station, which must also accept complaints and can forward the case in the same way as Dial 100.

What if the danger situation is with a completely unknown child?

Complaints are also accepted. A sad and quite common situation is to see children or teenagers being harassed or subjected to prostitution in restaurants, snack bars and highway gas stations. In these cases, you can call the Federal Highway Police through the emergency number 191.

What happens after reports of child abuse?

The competent authorities will take the necessary measures to guarantee the integrity of the child or adolescent after analyzing each situation. Depending on the seriousness of the situation, psychological follow-up of the family may be requested, removal of the victim from parents or relatives who are causing problems and even loss of custody.

Anyway, here’s a final reminder: you should NEVER enter the house or apartment where the child is to try to save him – this task is up to the authorities. If you do, you could be charged with breaking and entering and undermining child protection. Your part is to report and, if possible, follow the development of the matter and testify if called upon.