University of São Paulo: Debates promoted by NEV-USP will discuss how inequalities impact the future of children

On the 20th and 25th, the Center for the Study of Violence (NEV) at USP, which acts as a Collaborating Center for the WHO, promotes two online debates. On the 20th, next Thursday, from 2 pm, it will be On Inequalities: Trajectories and socio-territorial constraints. On the 25th, Humanitarian Emergencies will be discussed: Public and popular actions (what about children?).

The events are supported by the Global Cities program of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IEA) at USP and will be broadcast on the NEV channel on Youtube. Certificates will be issued for those who participate live, in which the attendance list in form, provided by the organizers, will be sent during the discussions.

One of the proposals of the event on the first day is to debate the multiple faces that inequalities, whether income, education, gender, ethnicity, access to services and political participation. Based on this, according to the organizers, examining this issue and the multiple dimensions that surround it is essential to understand the trajectories of inequalities, which in Brazil are manifested in a more complex way.

Marta Arretche, professor at the Department of Political Science at the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences (FFLCH) at USP and director of the Center for Metropolis Studies (CEM) at the same University will be present on this day. CEM brings together researchers from different institutions, such as USP, Unifesp, FGV and Insper, with the aim of contributing to national and international debates on social and spatial inequalities and, to this end, they cover comparisons between urban and metropolitan contexts in different regions of Brazil and other countries.

Alongside Professor Marta will be Aldaíza Sposati, head of the permanent faculty of the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in the Postgraduate Program in Social Work, where she coordinates the Center for Studies and Research in Security and Social Assistance (Nepsas ).

Both professors have dedicated themselves to understanding the trajectory of inequalities in Brazil and how the social, economic and political transformations of contemporary metropolises, emphasizing the Brazilian case, have contributed to elucidate the dimensions related to citizens’ access to well-being. The research developed by them is directed to the mechanisms of production and reproduction of social inequalities linked to the action of the State, the insertion in the labor markets and the dynamics of sociability and the guarantee of human rights.

the future of children

On the second day, the idea is to discuss the challenges, advances, needs and limitations of managing the urban environment in large metropolises, highlighting the exposure of children and adolescents to rights violations. Thus, it is proposed to dialogue about the humanitarian crises generated by extreme climatic events, resulting from inequalities, as well as about the actions and relationships between public sanitation, health, civil defense and public security agents responsible for preventive and emergency actions and how these issues impact the future of children.

At this moment, Ariel Pontes, psychologist and researcher in the field of Psychology in Emergencies and Disasters by the Teaching, Research and Health Extension Group in Emergencies and Disasters (Gepesed) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) will be present. She is currently a member of the Special Committee on Emergencies and Disasters of the Regional Council of Psychology of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

According to her, psychology can be implemented in all phases of comprehensive risk and disaster management, as it relates to the vulnerability of both the affected location, the capacity and resources of the location, those affected and the support teams. Thus, Ariel believes that the performance of this area is essential to minimize the demands linked to the possibility of violations of the rights of children and adolescents, such as sexual violence, neglect, child labor, practices of infraction and drug use.

“It is of paramount importance that we can discuss the care offered to children living in areas at risk for disasters, in addition to mental health care and the protection and guarantee of human rights, for children’s well-being and full physical development, cognitive, social, spiritual and emotional development of children in the context of risks and disasters”, the researcher says.

Along with her will be Bernardo Dolabella, psychologist and researcher at Fiocruz’s Center for Mental Health and Psychosocial Care in Disasters and Emergencies in Public Health (NUSMAPS). This nucleus develops research based on interdisciplinary dialogue in the area of ​​Mental Health and Psychosocial Care (Smaps) in disasters to prepare public health and offer safe, innovative and articulated information with the SUS in different regions of Brazil and in different types of disasters.