“Não olhe para mim senão meto a mão na sua cara!”: Narrativas de adolescentes e jovens sobre violência policial e racismo em Belo Horizonte.

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the implications of police violence and racism on the experiences of adolescents and young people with vulnerable trajectories in the city of Belo Horizonte - MG. A descriptive study was conducted with two distinct and complementary data sources, one of which was the result of inventive listening groups of adolescents and young people in a diagnostic survey commissioned by the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, and the other was the responses to the form on institutional violence practiced against adolescents and young people serving socio-educational measures in an open environment, both carried out in the city of Belo Horizonte - MG. For data analysis, quantitative methods were used to compile the responses to the form and qualitative analysis of the narratives of the adolescents and young people who participated in the inventive groups and the open field that the form has. The analyses indicated the occurrence of different forms of institutional violence, with a preponderance of police violence in the trajectories and lives of adolescents and young people, manifested as physical, psychological, and patrimonial violence, torture, abuse of power, persecution, and constant threats against young people and their families. The occurrence of these forms of institutional violence contributes to the experience of insecurity in their territories, in movement around the city and in the distrust in institutions, especially public security. It is also identified that formal complaints regarding these acts of violence are not made due to fear of possible retaliation. Thus, it is necessary to produce more data and qualified records on police violence practiced against this population and its impacts to enable spaces and institutional flows to listen to adolescents and young people in a safe and rotected manner, which can contribute to the effective reporting, as well as in the planning and implementation of preventive measures regarding these acts of violence.