Ana Panzo, who is launching this Wednesday the book "Crianças Vítimas de Abuso Sexual: Identificação, Assistência e Intervenção" – her second work, after having launched "Agressores Sexuais de Menores" in 2020 –, said that "as the years go by, it is not only the numbers that are alarming, but above all the consummation of the acts, with the strategies used by the aggressors".
Situational aggressors, who find children outside the family circle, generally associated with kidnappings, are "very few", since most cases of sexual abuse are committed by people close to the child, said the author of this work in statements to Lusa, highlighting that many of the aggressors are family members, neighbors, teachers, among others.
"We need to start doing studies and, more than studies, create a database to build a profile of the aggressors who are in Angola, thus having greater sustainability to identify the causes", she said.
Based on her research, Ana Panzo states that aggressors preferentially attack children under 12 years of age, affecting the entire country, with greater relevance in the provinces of Luanda, Benguela, Cuanza Sul and Bié.
Ana Panzo said that, in this book, unlike the first work in which she focused on sexual aggressors, the focus is on the victims, noting that a high number of those who blame themselves for what happened to them.
According to Ana Panzo, this feeling is caused by family members or professionals called to intervene in the abusive situation, "who think they are helping, but do not do so assertively".
She stated, for example, that not all police officers in police stations are prepared to interview a victim of sexual abuse, making it necessary to specialize people who work in care institutions, despite recognizing the lack of working conditions in police stations and hospitals.
The book, with three chapters, reports true cases, which he attended in his office and others reported by the media, with those that occur in low-income families being those that normally come to public knowledge, although the problem affects all social classes.
The psychologist also highlights the increase in reports and people's awareness, the result of "hard work" by the media, government institutions and civil society.
"Today there is greater publicity, because people are raising the level of awareness among families, in the sense of reporting and not resolving issues internally as they did a few years ago," she highlighted.
"Nothing justifies an abusive act against a minor," he added, highlighting that cultural issues are often highlighted and that the National Children's Institute has been running a campaign to discourage marriage with minors in some regions of the country, where this act is acceptable.
In 2024, the National Children's Institute registered 649 cases of sexual violence, through its SOS – Criança hotline, with Luanda leading the list with 179 alerts, followed by Benguela with 97.
