Um caso entre a saúde mental e os direitos humanos: As versões e a vítima

Abstract

In the context of Brazil's first conviction for violation of human rights, the "Damiao Ximenes Case", we seek to understand its conditions of possibility, highlighting the several versions about the case and the social construction of one of its elements: the victim. An anthropological approach that emphasizes the social forms of classification is adopted, and media, government and scientific documents are the object of description and analysis. Legal and medical knowledge are mobilized to generate different versions about the death of the victim, the "fact-finding" overriding the " body inspection ", generating consensus on the cause of death by maltreatment. The classification of the victim as a person with "disability", and not "mental disorder", contributes to the condemnation, and the expertise becomes crucial to the outcome of the case.