VICARIOUS HOMICIDE AND CHILDHOOD: THE INSTRUMENTALIZATION OF CHILDREN IN CONTEXTS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE AND THE CHALLENGES TO COMPREHENSIVE PROTECTION

Abstract

This scientific article examines vicarious homicide and the instrumentalization of children in contexts of family violence, taking as its analytical axis the centrality of the doctrine of comprehensive protection within the Brazilian legal system and the need for an expanded reading of the dynamics of aggression that develop within domestic relationships. The analysis shows that, in such contexts, the child suffers a double violation, since, in addition to having their physical, emotional, psychological, and relational integrity affected, their condition as a subject of rights is obscured by the adult centered logic that structures judicialized family disputes and institutional practices that are still insufficiently prepared to identify vicarious violence in its more subtle manifestations. The study demonstrates that the Federal Constitution, the Statute of the Child and Adolescent, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the specific legislation on protected hearing and guarantee of rights provide robust normative foundations for the priority protection of childhood, but the effectiveness of this framework is limited by institutional fragmentation, the insufficiency of preventive public policies, the difficulty of intersectoral coordination, and the persistence of interpretations that minimize the seriousness of children’s exposure to violent conflicts. It is concluded that confronting vicarious homicide and related forms of child instrumentalization depends on overcoming fragmented approaches and on building institutional practices capable of recognizing the child as the center of protective intervention rather than as a peripheral element in disputes between adults.