From doll to broom: the portrait of physical abuse against children

Mistreatment and torture have become more of a family member

– My God, take me out of here… Please, take me out of here.

– Why didn’t you mop the bathroom?

– Oh, Auntie, I forgot.

– Uh? You forgot? Then, I’ll teach you a lesson.

– No, Auntie, don’t do that. You don’t need to smack me. Forgive me, Auntie. I’ve already learned…

– Tie her up. Chain her up. Switch the iron on, and when it’s red hot, give it to me.

– No, Auntie, please…

…

– Now, give me the pliers. And a pair of scissors as well.

– Please, Auntie, I’ve already learned my lesson…

– Stick your tongue out. Stick your tongue out right now!

– I’ve already learned my lesson, Auntie. Auntie, for God’s sake, Aunt…

…

Every day, Lucélia Rodrigues, 12, prays that one day she will finally be free from all the suffering she goes through. She’s tortured in the most imaginable and cruellest way by a businesswoman, whom she calls “Auntie”, who has illegally adopted her. But her suffering began a long time ago, when her biological mother, who did not have the means to look after her, gave her the businesswoman. She already had five children at home, and so the solution was to give some of them away, in a desperate attempt to minimise the financial problems.
Many cases like this are common in the country. Since Dial 100 (a help line that assists the victims of domestic violence) was created in 2003, there have been 127 thousand cases of domestic violence against children recorded. Around 77 cases are reported every day. But seven years ago, according to the Human Rights Council, this number would not go over 12.

As in the example above, hundreds of children are adopted illegally. And not always do the new parents fulfil the promises they make to the original families. In this way, many people take advantage of children’s fragility and the ignorance of their parents, and take their anger, stress, nervousness and other emotions out on the children. And so, physical, sexual and emotional violence becomes more of a member of the family, as present in the life of many children as a teddy bear. Like Lucélia, many boys and girls under the age of 14 work instead going to school. According to the International Labor Organization, there are 215 million children working in the world. Besides, around 5% of children have never been enrolled in a school.

Lucélia’s anguish and supplications have been going on for 2 years. The police break into the house and find the girl tied, gagged and chained to a ladder at the back of the building. The officers cry. They cannot bear the scene. The girl, with her tongue chipped and the body bruised and burned, begins to tell them everything that happened. Her nails, which have been hammered and pressed at the door, are now black. She’s skinny, as a result of being often left without food. With no right to food or drink, she was forced to eat and drink the dog’s faeces and urine. The police commissioner in charge of the case, Adriana Accorsi, said in an interview that, “the culture of having many children without having the means to look after them, which has forced many women to give their children away—like Lucélia’s mother did with five of her six children—, is morally questionable and reprehensible. We should only have the children we are able to look after, and we should look after them with much love and care. Had she not given her child away, none of this would have happened.”

Despite this warning, the number of women without any psychological preparation who give birth every day is growing. For you to have an idea of how serious the situation is, around 444,056 girls between 10 and 19 have given birth in the country. Without money, some decide to abandon or to give the child out for adoption (whether the procedure is legal or not), whilst others prefer to keep the child—despite not having the minimum requirements to raise a child. And so, physical violence is the first thing that happens in the troubled environment the child lives in. Add to this negligence, lack of care and attention, which are as bad as physical and sexual abuse. The reasons and justifications are many: religious beliefs, a way of disciplining and educating the child, lack of psychological structure to look after a human being, etc.

After being maltreated and tortured for 2 years, Lucélias finally free. The businesswoman, Silvia Calabresi, and her maid, Vanice Maria Novaes, are in prison. Today, Lucélia, 14, is studying and lives a normal life, despite the marks left in her body and soul. She wants to be a police officer and “look after the Brazilian children”. A noble attitude for someone who was forced to exchange her dolls for brooms, buckets and violence. Little by little, her dream is coming true. But will the thousands of children who suffer in the country wait for Lecélia’s heroic rescue?