[Data integration for the prevention of violence against girls and women in Northeastern BrazilIntegración de datos para la prevención de la violencia contra niñas y mujeres en el nordeste de Brasil].

Abstract

Objective: To integrate and analyze health and public safety data from the state of Rio Grande do Norte, located in Brazil's Northeast region, regarding violence against girls and women.

Methods: Individual-level data related to incidents of violence against girls and women in Rio Grande do Norte between 2019 and 2021 were obtained for linkage from two health information systems (the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System, Sinan; and the Mortality Information System, SIM) and from police reports. A deterministic linkage algorithm was developed in Stata, using matching rules based on key variables available in the different databases.

Results: A total of 43 626 girls and women were identified as victims of violence during the study period. Of these, 83.5% were detected in police records, 16.5% in Sinan, and only 0.4% appeared in both systems. Health services captured proportionally more cases of violence against children and adolescents aged 0 to 19 years, as well as cases of physical and sexual violence. Police records included a higher number of psychological violence cases involving adult victims. Among the fatalities, the group identified exclusively in Sinan exhibited more deaths from external causes related to violence.

Conclusions: The lack of integration across systems conceals the true scale of violence against girls and women. Policies aimed at data integration, coupled with efforts to address underreporting, are essential for the development of effective interventions to promote a life free from violence.