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

Abstract

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.