CHILDREN’S RIGHT TO CHILDHOOD IN THE MAKING: CARE NETWORKS, PUBLIC POLICIES, AND SOCIAL SUPPORT IN RESPONSE TO THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF THE ECOLOGY OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Abstract

This article analyzes the structure of public policies, care networks, and social support as mechanisms for guaranteeing the right to childhood in the face of the impacts generated by the ecology of sexual violence against children and adolescents in Brazil. It starts from the premise that childhood, although recognized as a fundamental human right by the 1988 Federal Constitution and the Statute of Children and Adolescents (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente—ECA), constitutes a condition that must be continuously constructed and protected by the State, family, and society. Through bibliographic and documentary research, using governmental, legal, and scientific sources, the study maps the articulation among health, social assistance, education, and justice (CRAS, CREAS, Guardianship Councils, schools, and hospitals) as a protection network; examines public policies such as the National Plan to Combat Sexual Violence against Children and Adolescents and Law No. 13,431/2017; and discusses sexual violence from the perspective of the ecological model of Bronfenbrenner and Belsky, which understands it as a phenomenon determined by multiple individual, family, community, and cultural factors. Data from Disque 100, UNICEF, and the Brazilian Public Security Forum reveal a scenario of underreporting and an increase in violations, highlighting weaknesses in the integration of the protection network. It is concluded that guaranteeing childhood depends simultaneously on strengthening public policies, specialized listening, and coordinated intersectoral action, with recommendations presented for improving the child and adolescent protection network.