“Menores de rua, meninas da Casa”: a Casa de Passagem e as meninas em situação de rua no Recife (1989 - 1999)

Abstract

This dissertation aims to historicize the trajectory of the Brazilian Center for Children and Adolescents – Casa de Passagem (CBCA), a non-governmental organization that worked in the care of abandoned girls, as well as analyzing the experiences that led these children and adolescents to seek care. the streets as an alternative to freedom, in addition to being attended to by the institution. According to its statute, the organization is a non-profit civil institution, located in the city of Recife, Pernambuco, with the objective of assisting girls living on the streets, domestic and sexual violence. The International Year of the Child, 1979, contributed to the dissemination of issues relating to children and adolescents in the country, providing a scenario in which denunciations of criminality and denial of rights gained greater political connotation and social mobilization. When a focus is made on street children and adolescents, especially girls in Recife in the period 1989-1999, it can be seen that these problems become even more intense. The work's methodology was initially based on a historiographical review in the fields of childhood and gender, especially in the history of girls. There was an analysis of data about the city in the time frame worked, in order to understand that Recife was the one where the Casa de Passagem was located. In addition, we sought to understand who these girls cared for by the institution were and how the institution provided them. Finally, the organization's statements about itself were analyzed, as well as about the children and teenagers who passed through there, through documents produced by the House itself. This work made it possible to understand who these street girls were and what motivated them to seek the streets of Recife, as well as to understand the history and performance of Casa de Passagem in the search for guaranteeing the rights of these girls through its educational practices. It also provided an opportunity to understand how the institution provided them with a perspective of the future for themselves, whether educational, professional or family, through their daily actions.