One in five Brazilians endured regular physical punishment in childhood

A study conducted in 11 Brazilian capitals revealed that more than 70% of the 4,025 interviewees were spanked when children. For 20% of them, physical punishment occurred regularly – at least once a week or more.

By Karina Toledo

Agência FAPESP – A study conducted in 11 Brazilian capitals revealed that more than 70% of the 4,025 interviewees were spanked as children. For 20% of these interviewees, physical punishment occurred regularly – at least once a week or more.

Spankings with switches, belts, sticks and other objects that can cause serious injury were more frequent than corporal punishment with hands, especially among those who affirmed being spanked almost daily.

The study was conducted in 2010 and released last month by the Universidade de São Paulo’s Centre for the Study of Violence (NEV-USP), a Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center funded by FAPESP.

The objective of the study, according to Nancy Cardia, vice coordinator of NEV, was to examine how exposure to violence affects the attitudes, norms and values of citizens in relation to violence, human rights and institutions tasked with guaranteeing safety.

“The question of corporal punishment in childhood has proven absolutely vital to the study. In crossing these results with several other issues, we found that victims of severe violence in childhood are more likely to be victims of violence throughout their lifetimes,” said Cardia.

The most likely explanation for this phenomenon is that victims of abusive corporal punishment in childhood have a higher probability of adopting violence as a language for dealing with day-to-day situations.
“The child understands that violence is a legitimate option and will use it when there is a conflict with peers at school, for example. But in acting aggressively, he or she can also be faced with aggression and can become the victim. This grows in an exponential manner throughout a lifetime,” explained Cardia.

The interviewees who affirmed having been beaten often as children were most likely to choose the option of “frequent beating” in the event that their own children misbehaved. These respondents also expected their children to respond with violence in the event of physical aggression at school. According to the researchers, the data suggest a perverse cycle of physical force that must be overcome.

The results were compared to a similar study conducted in 1999 by NEV in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Recife, Belém, Manaus, Porto Velho and Goiânia. In the 2010 study, the Fortaleza capital was also included.

Although the percentage of interviewees who affirmed having endured regular physical punishment decreased in the last decade (from one in four interviewees to one in five), it is still considered high.

The study shows that the population’s perception of the growth of violence declined from 93.4% in 1999 to 72.8% in 2010. In the latest study, however, the number of interviewees who said that they had witnessed drug consumption, imprisonment, assaults and aggression in their neighborhoods had increased.

In general, there was an improved assessment of security institutions. The Army’s ratings climbed significantly, from 55.2% in 1999 to 66.6% in 2010. The Federal Police’s approval rose from 42% to 60%. The approval rating of the Military Police, which had the worst evaluation, rose from 21.2% to 38%.

Fines and imprisonment

One finding concerned researchers: the rise in the tolerance for police violence against suspects in certain cases. The number of people who clearly disagreed with torture to obtain evidence dropped from 71.2% to 52.5%, which means that almost half of those interviewed (47%) would tolerate violence in these situations.

The study also found declining percentages of those who totally disagreed that the police can “invade a home” (from 78.4% to 63.8%), “shoot a suspect” (from 87.9% to 68.6%), “attack a suspect” (from 88.7% to 67.9%) or “shoot an armed suspect” (from 45.4% to 38%).

When questioned about the most appropriate punishment for serious crimes, including kidnapping, rape and homicide committed by youths, terrorism, drug trafficking, a husband killing his spouse and political corruption, many interviewees defended sentences that are not part of the Brazilian Penal Code, such as life without parole, the death penalty and imprisonment with forced labor.

The death penalty was most widely accepted for rape cases (39.5%), and incarceration with forced labor was most often defended for corrupt politicians (28.3%).

“We expected the population to support heavier sentences because of the frustration that exists regarding impunity. The set of responses indicates that people consider prison to be a deposit,” said Cardia.

For the majority of those interviewed, prison is a seen as a mildly efficient or totally inefficient manner of punishment (60.7%) and rehabilitation (65.7%) for criminals that can deter (60.9%) and control possible offenders. This question was evaluated only in the 2010 study.

Another aspect of the study that Cardia considers negative is the low appreciation for democratic rights, such as freedom of expression and political opposition.

More than 42% of those interviewed totally or partially agreed that government censorship of the press is justifiable, and 40% accepted the imprisonment of people for political positions as a means of maintaining social order. For 40.4% of the interviewees, the country should have the right to revoke citizenship for national security issues.

“We expected that 30 years after the end of the dictatorship, democratic values would have a 70% to 80% approval rating. But that was not the case. Furthermore, there is a focus on some very undemocratic things, such as torture. There are remnants of the thought that exile is legitimate and could be applied in the 21st century. It is shocking,” said Cardia.