Introduction:

childhood and adolescent sexual abuse (CSA) is a relevant problem that has increased in recent years.

Objectives:

to describe the epidemiological characteristics of childhood and adolescent sexual abuse (CSA) of patients who were discharged from the Pereira Rossell Hospital Center (CH-PRHC) and to learn about the behavior adopted in connection with the recommendations by the Ministry of Health in cases of severe SA.

Method:

descriptive, retrospective study including children and adolescents younger than 15 years old diagnosed with SA who were released from intermediate care at the CH - HPRC between June 1, 2010 and May 30, 2014.

Results:

n = 156, mean age 8.1 years old, 78% female. Average hospital stay was 8.3 days. In 54% of cases somebody within the family was responsible for the SA, the mother’s partner being the most frequent one; repeated episodes 48%; oral, vaginal and/or anal penetration 6%; 25% of cases were severe; 71% of cases evidenced one or more risk factors; specific signs of SA were found in 20% of cases, being these non-specific in 38% of them. 45% of medical records proved there had been a police report. In the cases of severe SA, fulfilment of prophylactic antiretroviral treatment, taking of vaginal, rectal or oral samples, STD coverage and prevention of pregnancy was assessed.

Conclusions:

the most frequent kind of sexual abuse was intrafamily child sexual abuse (CSA), which occurred more than once and happened to girls and female adolescents, who did not present abuse-specific elements. There was uneven observation of the recommendations by the Ministry of Health.

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