University of São Paulo: Researchers study the importance of non-violent communication and the right to voice for children and young people

Last year, Brazil registered 80,573 divorce proceedings, according to data from the Notary College , which represents the country’s registry offices. This number was the highest in the historical series, which started in 2007, with an increase of 4% compared to 2020. Most of the time, children and young people are the ones who suffer the most. In addition to this delicate situation in which they find themselves, they do not have opportunities to express what they feel and want. However, it is not only in these cases that there is no space for communication – in everyday life, the same problem occurs. And when they finally manage to externalize what they think, they suffer reprisals. Researcher Ana Claudia Pompeu Torezan Andreucci focuses on this subject. , which is developing the postdoctoral project Nonviolent Communication and New Narratives of the Right to Voice for Children and Adolescents at the Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA) at USP: an analysis in the light of education for peace in the public policy of judicial workshops on parenting in Brazil .

The postdoctoral student points out that children and adolescents have broad legal support. As early as 1959, for example, the United Nations (UN) publishes the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child . In Brazil, the 1988 Constitution, in its article 227, considers young people for the first time as subjects of law and no longer as objects of law. That is, from this moment on, they are understood as citizens protected by law and with the prerogative to exercise their own rights, independent of those exercised by their parents or guardians.

In 1990, an important law was passed, which became known as the Statute of Children and Adolescents . In it, it was established that “children and adolescents enjoy all the fundamental rights inherent to the human person, […] in order to provide them with physical, mental, moral, spiritual and social development, in conditions of freedom and dignity”. Later, the Youth Statute and the Legal Framework for Early Childhood would complete this set of legislation.

cultural issue
Ana Claudia recognizes that the existing legislation still does not cover all needs, despite already guaranteeing many rights. But it is still a challenge to make these guarantees valid out of paper: “There is a lack of cultural understanding that the child is already a subject of rights. They have to be protected like adults. In practice, we still see an objectification of children”. And this means that they do not enjoy their rights to communication and participation.

There is a subordination of children and adolescents not only in relation to father figures, but to adults in general. Young people do not have the chance to communicate freely, as people who have the necessary skills to express their ideas. To make themselves heard, children need the intermediation of an adult. Without that, and often even with this midfield, they are not taken seriously.

“There is that notion of what the child will be when he grows up. The child is already. She has to be respected now. Just because she’s younger doesn’t mean she’s less of a human being than we are.”

It is due to this scenario that the researcher emphasizes the difference between the right to communication and the right to voice. The first covers a global understanding of the speech of children and young people, which allows them to be understood by adults and vice versa. On the other hand, the right to a voice, resulting from adequate and comprehensive communication, refers to the creation of a space in which children can speak for themselves, be heard and have their rights respected.

The importance of giving children a voice
Cases of abuse and violence against children and adolescents have been growing in recent years , according to data from Unicef ​​and the Brazilian Forum on Public Security. But if a child is beaten or raped, for example, he will not be able to reveal anything about the trauma he has suffered (even if he knows he has been the victim of a crime) if he does not find a favorable context to speak out. And the silence of young people is something that is often not understood. Giving a voice means guaranteeing children a safe environment.

In addition, encouraging the direct participation of children today is to form a people prepared to give opinions and debate in the future, evaluates the postdoctoral student. “It is a matter of citizenship, because when we communicate their rights to children and adolescents, they are able to see themselves as active citizens with a voice and protagonism”, emphasizes Ana Claudia.

One of the theoretical bases of postdoctoral studies is the German researcher Hannah Arendt, one of the most influential political thinkers of the 20th century. According to her, a person needs to know their rights in order to exercise them, as well as to be able to put into practice an action. policy. That’s why Ana Claudia says that a child without a voice becomes an invisible child. With no opportunities to be heard, she ends up being hostage to the wills of adults, which are not the same as those of a young person.

Projects that give voice to children
One initiative mentioned by Ana Claudia that seeks to exercise this right is that of the Mirim Chamber . The project is part of Plenarinho, a platform of the Chamber of Deputies that seeks to bring children closer to the world of the Legislative Power through a playful and didactic approach. The Junior Chamber takes students from the 5th to the 9th year of Elementary School to prepare a bill, which can be defended in the Plenary. This allows children to feel more represented, in addition to encouraging a citizen and active stance in society.

Another important action, which has become one of the research focuses, are the so -called parenting workshops . The initiative emerged at the 2nd Family and Succession Court, in the city of São Vicente, with Judge Vanessa Aufiero da Rocha. The workshops take place when a divorce process involves a child or teenager. Different lectures are given to parents and children in order to promote more respectful and fair communication between them.

During the workshops, the theory of non-violent communication, formulated by the American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg, is applied. According to Ana Claudia, the main pillar of this theory is the fact that she does not deny the disagreement. “For you to resolve a conflict, dialogue is necessary. The message of this idea is not to move away from conflict, but to reflect on how it is possible to deal with it”, says Ana Claudia.

With the application of non-violent communication, the Judiciary ceases to act only according to what was provided for in the law, to adopt an educational stance. In the lectures, it is shown that the family environment does not need to be one of conflict, but of approximation.

“Even with a conflict, it is possible to reach a common denominator. It is necessary to use communication that is to bring together, to snuggle, to transmit rights and pacify relationships. It’s about dealing with the ex-spouse with a child on this path.”

The measure was so successful in the city of Baixada Santista that it ended up becoming a public policy of the National Council of Justice (CNJ). Today, it is possible to have access to the workshops even without filing a lawsuit. They are performed in a single four-hour meeting, with explanations by exhibitors, debates and recreational activities. The objective of the program is “to provide strategies for the children to be able to overcome the difficulties inherent to the family reorganization phase and adapt to the new reality”.

The research undertaken by Ana Claudia made her realize how crucial the active participation of children and adolescents is for the development of society. She also noted that the ideals of non-violent communication can help in human relationships in general: “Non-violent communication has to be a basis for many things in life, not only in projects of the Judiciary, but in the press, in education, in the Legislative into the Executive. I think non-violent communication should be a motto for us to live”.