Ecological engagement and educational practices: An experience in the context of a public policy implementation on the protection of children victims of sexual abuse and Ill-treatment

Abstract

This chapter presents research data on educational practices in families with children victims of sexual abuse or ill-treatment, who have been hosted in a reporting institution context for investigation and protection of children and adolescents in a Brazilian capital. The methodology of Ecological Engagement proposed in the Bioecological Model of Human Development was used to obtain the data, organizing the research in two moments: (1) the researcher’s participation in the routine activities of the institution, knowing and following the procedures performed, recorded in the field diary, and (2) the application of a semi-structured interview script, the Inventory of Parenting Styles-IEP (Gomide, Inventário de Estilos Parentais-IEP: Modelo teórico, manual de aplicação, apuração e interpretação, Rio de Janeiro, 2011) and an emotions and behaviors descriptor of the participating families. In all, six mothers participated, two of the boys with physical abuse reports and four of them were mothers of girls with sexual abuse reports. The information show that all families present risky educational practices, with a lot of physical punishment, few explanations, and inconstant monitoring of children, even though the beliefs and related values were based, in the ideal field, on more collaborative practices that would stimulate their autonomy and protection. The work carried out in the institution researched has protective aspects regarding the team constant dialogue and the search for continuous training and effective practices in the production of material related to the reports. However, it was also possible to identify the existence of many personal beliefs and values in the activities carried out by the members of the team with the families, as well as judgments and determinations regarding child and family development based on reports of abuse and ill-treatment. The Ecological Engagement allowed the integration of the Process, Person, Context, and Time aspects in the research, achieving the desired ecological validity. It showed the development movement of those involved in a dynamic and interlaced way, highlighting aspects of risk and protection, besides having favored the presentation of future interventions in the institution context for all involved.