Violence against the elderly: analysis of the reports made in the health sector - Brazil, 2010

The scope of this study was to describe reports of violence against the elderly (e" 60 years) reported in the Information System for Notifiable Diseases - net version (Sinan Net) in 2010. We conducted a descriptive, retrospective study with data analyzed by Stata version 11. We estimated proportion ratios (PR) of violence according to selected variables. Of the 3,593 reports of violence against the elderly, 52.3% were against females. Physical violence was significantly more frequent against males (PR=0.82) in the group aged 60 to 69 years, out of the home, committed by offenders who were not sons and were suspected of drinking alcohol. Psychological violence was more common among elderly people (PR=2.17), in the home, inflicted by sons, with suspected chronic alcohol abuse. Negligence was predominant among females (P R=1.24), in the group above 70 years of age, in the home, recurrently perpetrated by sons. Sexual violence was more common against females (PR=5.21), by offenders who were not children, but who consumed alcohol. The knowledge of the different manifestations of violence against the elderly supports actions to combat them, identifying characteristics of vulnerability in which support networks may intervene.