Blaming the victim: Aspects of the Brazilian case

This report describes the consequences and some aspects of the origin and d evelopment of victim blaming in accident analysis, and some methods for inv estigating such events, with particular emphasis on the situation in Brazil . In Brazil, the spread of this practice seems to have been helped by sever al factors. (1) The idea that occupational accidents are simple phenomena w ith a limited number of causal factors linked to unsafe actions and/or cond itions. In the past, the theory of accident proneness had less influence th an in other countries. (2) Government regulations that stipulate the hiring of health and safety officers, production of "educational" material, and " preventive" campaigns that emphasize the role of the victim's "faulty" beha vior in the origin of an accident. (3) Mandatory implementation of standard ized models for accident investigation directed toward searching for a sing le "cause." Usually one conclusion, expressed in terms of unsafe acts or co nditions, is formulated so that whoever performs an unsafe act is responsib le for the accident. (4) Lack of knowledge, as shown in Brazilian publicati ons on occupational accidents and in the evolution of studies on the nature of accident phenomena and of strategies adopted for their prevention.