Cases of violence against people with disabilities notified by Brazilian health services, 2011-2017

Objective: To describe cases of violence against people with disabilities notified by Brazilian health services between 2011 and 2017. Methods: This was a descriptive study of secondary data on notifications of violence against people with disabilities recorded on the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (Sinan). Results: 116,219 cases of violence against people with disabilities were recorded in the period. Most of the victims were female (67%), White (50.7%), between 20 and 59 years old (61.6%) and mentally disabled (58.1%), with multiple disabilities occurring frequently (15.9%), especially mental and intellectual disabilities. Self-inflicted violence accounted for 44.5% of notifications. Physical violence was the most reported (51.6%), and in 36.5% of notifications the probable aggressor was a family member. Conclusion: The description of cases of violence against people with disabilities notified by Brazilian health services can contribute to the formulation and improvement of public policies to address this important problem.

Automated summary

According to notifications data, Brazilian health services recorded 116,219 cases of violence against people with disabilities, with most victims being female, white, aged 20 to 59, and mentally disabled. Self-inflicted violence was common, with physical violence being the most reported and family members being the probable aggressors in many cases.