According to the 2024 Annual Characterization Report on the Situation of Child and Youth Reception (CASA), presented last week to the Assembly of the Republic, 13,850 situations of danger were identified involving 11,680 children and youths who were removed from their biological families last year and placed under the promotion and protection system.
“As in previous years, neglect situations stood out as the most significant reason for reception,” the report states, noting there were 9,434 cases of neglect.
Additionally, there were 850 instances of children and youths being abandoned or left to fend for themselves, 479 cases of domestic violence, 548 due to physical abuse, and 313 cases of sexual abuse, among other situations.
“Neglect situations assume various forms, with the most frequent being lack of supervision and family support (31.4%), followed by exposure to deviant parental models (17.4%), low educational value (16.5%), and health (16.1%),” the CASA 2024 report notes.
The report adds that educational neglect was more often identified in girls, while health neglect was more prevalent in boys, with the 12-17 age group being most referenced in various types of neglect.
Regarding physical abuse, the report underscores that this reason has “low expressiveness as a basis for reception situations (4.3%)” and that “it was most prominent from the age of 12 in such danger situations.”
“Physical abuse refers to any physical harm inflicted on a child or youth through intentional, non-accidental physical force, causing physical damage, whether or not it leaves visible marks,” it clarifies.
The report characterizes sexual abuse cases as residual among the various danger situations (2.3%), highlighting incidents of exposure, verbal and physical, to sexual language or behaviors (60.4%), predominantly affecting females (72.8%) and the 12-17 age group.
“It is important to note that 117 of these children and youths characterized in this typology were victims of rape or another sexual act (37.6%), with most being female and over 12 years old,” the report reads.
