Victims of violence in the city of Campo Grande: a six-year-picture revealed by official data

Abstract

The growth of violence in Brazil has been producing an increasingly significant number of victims, including fatal victims. This has worried authorities and professionals, mainly those in the health area. In recent years, researchers have been searching for the diagnosis of the question and for the understanding of its risk factors in specific groups. In the city of Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the inexistence of information led to the conduction of a research study that aimed to outline the evolution of mortality caused by violent actions, in the period 2000-2005. We utilized data from the "Sistema de Informação de Mortalidade" (Mortality Information System), which were made available by the Health Department of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, using ICD-10 categories referring to assault, excluding intentional self-harm. The results show the magnitude of the problem in Campo Grande, since it affects all age groups, with greater impact on the young male population. Assault by handgun discharge, by sharp object and by blunt object and assault by bodily force are the most frequent. The identification of the factors that trigger this type of violence is urgent, considering the different groups, so that it is possible to act in a preventive and efficient way.