ABSTRACT:
Background. In 2024, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil, faced one of the most severe rainfall-related disasters in its history. The floods affected nearly all municipalities, causing deaths, displacement, and widespread losses. Beyond these impacts, such events can heighten the risk of sexual violence against children and adolescents, yet no estimates exist for this period’s acute and recovery phases. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the impact of the 2024 rainfall disasters in RS on Primary Health Care (PHC) visits for sexual violence among children and adolescents. Methods. This ecological study analyzed PHC visits for sexual violence among children and adolescents (0–17 years) in disaster-affected municipalities. Data on healthcare visits were obtained from the Health Information System for Primary Care, while disaster data were sourced from the Integrated Disaster Information System. Monthly visit rates (/10,000) were calculated for pre-disaster (May-2022 to April-2024), acute (May 2024), and recovery (Jun–Sep 2024) periods. Rates from the recovery phase were compared to those from the pre-disaster period using the Student’s t-test and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results. Among 558 cases analyzed, most involved girls (85.4%). Children under nine accounted for 39.6% of cases, and those aged 10–13 for 36%. During and after the disasters, sexual violence cases against girls rose significantly from 7.8 to 14.7 (p < 0.05). Although increases were also observed among boys and across different age groups, these changes were not statistically significant, despite the average rates more than doubling among those aged 13 years or older. Conclusion. The 2024 rainfall disasters in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, may have increased the risk of sexual abuse, reflected in higher primary health care visits among girls. These findings underscore the need to address violence in climate emergency response and recovery efforts.