Facing domestic violence against children and adolescents: Construction of a protection network in a Brazilian city

Introduction: Domestic violence against children and adolescents (VDCA) is a relevant problem for society in general, with serious consequences for the physical and mental health of victims. To face this problem it is necessary to involve professionals and institutions from different sectors for attention and protection of children and adolescents. It has been recommend by the World Health Organization.
Objective: Develop strategies to construct a network for protection against VDCA in Embu city, southeast Brazil, and to evaluate its effectiveness.
Method: Establish the collaboration between Federal University of Sao Paulo and municipal government to adopt the following strategies: a) to schedule regular meetings with government representatives to formulate and implement plans of action to reduce VDCA; b) to identify and disseminate information related to community resources that are already available for children and families; c) to organize a committee composed of professionals from different sectors with the mission of constructing, organizing, and maintaining the network; d) to offer regular professional supervision to groups of frontline workers involved in the assessment and management of VDCA cases to stimulate the network approach to the problem; e) to organize forums of discussion to stimulate collaboration and networking possibilities; e) to implement training programs in VDCA for community health workers and nurses. Strategies’ effectiveness was evaluated by interviews with institution representatives and key-informants, questionnaires applied to forum participants, focus groups with participants of the project, and by analyze of case notifications before and during interventions.
Results: Strategies increased case notification, level of participation and involvement of different sectors, and network approach to the problem. Other products included a guide of community resources available for victimized children and families, a handbook with basic information in VDCA for frontline workers, and a manual for training community health workers and nurses in identifying and managing VDCA cases.