FROM COMPULSORY ISOLATION FROM LEPROSY TO THE CHALLENGE OF NOT FORGETTING

Abstract

In Brazil, in compliance with Federal Law No. 610 of 1949, until 1986, a public health policy was developed that promoted compulsory isolation and separation of children of people affected by leprosy. To comply with this measure, dozens of institutions for isolating patients and separating their children were created across the country, forming a considerable care network spread across Brazilian states. At that time, the State had police power to create institutions and intervention mechanisms, aiming to confine and separate the sick and their children from social life, even against their will or consent. Nowadays, it is possible to identify dozens of institutions spread across the national territory and thousands of people remaining under the public policy of compulsory leprosy isolation. This article discusses the importance of this cultural heritage in health. The text here proposed is the result of the research carried out for the doctoral thesis, presented in 2022 for the Postgraduate Program in Social Sciences at PUC Minas (FLORES, 2022). Its objective was to analyze the psychosocial effects of the separation of parents affected by leprosy from their children and the impact on the social construction of identities and lifestyles of these descendants. Even with such cultural and heritage richness, Brazil has no public policies aimed at promoting and preserving the sensitive memories of these persecuted minorities.