Desinstitucionalizar con derechos: el buen trato como condición estructural de la atención y la protección a la infancia

Resumo

This article analyzes deinstitutionalization as a rights-based process for children and adolescents, positioning safeguarding as an essential institutional standard to ensure their well-being. Drawing on international frameworks and evidence on the effects of institutionalization, it argues for transforming care models toward community-based approaches that guarantee stable relationships, meaningful participation, and personalized support. The article also examines structural and normalized forms of violence that may emerge within protection systems when resources, continuity, or intersystem coordination are lacking. It highlights that the effective implementation of Lei Orgânica 8/2021 de Proteção Integral das Crianças e Adolescentes contra a Violência and the national Community Care Strategy requires enabling conditions such as professional stability, protected time for relational work, significant child participation, and public evaluation mechanisms. Ultimately, advancing deinstitutionalization means strengthening the protection system through a rights-based, preventive, and relationally coherent perspective.