History shows that from primitive times until the present age violence against children has been a social and cultural phenomenon of great relevance. The forms of violence, the cruelest and the most subtle, differ within societies. In Brazil, we distinguish a structural violence which is strongest among children who work and those who live on the streets or who are confined in closed institutions, and a social violence which is more vividly expressed in domestic violence; a delinquent violence where the children are both victims and actors. The juvenile and children's statute represents an important instrument through which society and the State, recognizing the characteristics of both entities, can try to dominate the forms of violence affecting their growth and development and thus their social development.
Violence; Battered child syndrome; Adolescence; Child health (Public health); Public health