[Characteristics of the notification of violence against children in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil].

OBJECTIVE: to describe the cases of violence against children reported in Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brazil.

METHODS: this was a descriptive study using data provided by the Violence and Accidents Surveillance System (VIVA), of the Municipal Health Department of Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brazil, from 2006 to 2008.

RESULTS: a total of 498 cases of violence against children (0-9 years old) were reported in the period, with an increase in the number of notifications, from 112 in 2006 to 197 in 2008; 79.3% of the notifications came from the Health area; and most children were female (56.4%), aged between two and five years old (over 60%); most aggressors were male (53.6%) and the father figure stood out (22.7%); physical aggressions were the most frequent (59.2%) and the most frequent place of the occurrence was the family household (75.5%).

CONCLUSION: most victims were female, abused by men, mostly fathers and other family members, at the family household.