Resumo

SAUTU, Ruth. Open and subtle forms of child abuse. Pap. poblac [online]. 2004, vol.10, n.40, pp.213-246. ISSN 2448-7147.

The purpose of this article is to analyse the social definition of abusive relationships with regard to children, the characterization of situations in that they take place, and the profile of victims and aggressors. The material that is analysed comes from tetimonies obtained in discussion workshops and semi-structured interviews of principals, teachers, and social and educational workers of shools situated in a very poor area located next to Riachuelo forming the bordeline of the Argentine Republic's Capital District. The fieldwork was carried out in the year 2000. Five shools were selected, in that all female teachers of the fourth year, as well as principals and social workers, were interviewed. Simultaneously, discussion workshops were carried out. As in all studies of this kind, the tetimonies offer the speaker's selective perception and his/her socio-cultural interpretation of the social processes described.

Palavras-chave : violence; children harassment; primary schools; Buenos Aires; Argentina.