Perfil da violência contra os idosos no Brasil durante pandemia pela Covid-19

Abstract

The aging of the population is an achievement, but it generates new problems regarding the physiological process of aging, the formulation of public policies and health promotion and prevention actions. Violence against the elderly is one of the problems highlighted in this new scenario and is considered a public health issue. It is often practiced by people close to home and in the home environment. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 brought a health and economic crisis, and as a way of reducing the transmission of the disease, the recommended social distancing resulted in discrimination against the elderly because they are the most serious group for the disease, in intergenerational family conflicts, a decrease of the health and social assistance network, increasing the vulnerability of the elderly to violence. Dial 100 is an important reporting tool, operating daily, free of charge and anonymously, and is linked to agencies in the network of investigation and action against violence. The objective of the present study is to verify the profile of violence against the elderly in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic registered on Dial 100 in 2020. This is an ecological, descriptive and retrospective study, based on the analysis of the complaints registered in the panel of data from the National Human Rights Ombudsman referring to the elderly module of Dial 100 in 2020. Data are secondary, non-nominal and in the public domain, collected between June and August 2021. Cases of violence against the elderly registered by Dial 100 in the period 2020 were studied, data on the profile of violence, victim and suspect. It was observed that in 2020, during the pandemic, there was an increase in the number of complaints on the Dial 100, showing the impact of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, but also bringing to light existing problems such as structural violence, the lack of support network and assistance to active and healthy aging, and the ineffectiveness of public policies for the protection and care of the elderly. The profile of violence against the elderly in 2020 recorded by Dial 100 showed a total of 84,002,000 complaints, an increase of 73.4% compared to 2019, with the Southeast region and the months of March, May and June as the leaders in the number of records. The most reported type of violence was physical, followed by psychological. In relation to the victim's profile, females were the ones with the highest percentage, white, aged 80 years or more with an income range of up to 1 minimum wage. Regarding the profile of the suspect of violence, it was evidenced that he is aged between 31 and 35 years old, white, male, often his son, and the house where the victim and aggressor resides is the location of the violation. It is therefore concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the profile of violence against the elderly recorded in Dial 100 in 2020.