Patriarchal Judges Prioritize Family Unity Over Domestic Violence Victims in Portugal

Experts from the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) have called for better decisions from Portuguese prosecutors and judges regarding domestic violence cases.

GREVIO highlights a "persistent lack of awareness among family and juvenile court judges about the negative impact exposure to violence, perpetrated by one parent against the other, has on children."

New Threats

"Judges often overlook the fact that shared custody can be a means for the domestic violence perpetrator to continue exerting control and domination over the mother and children, and that court proceedings can be used for new threats," the report states.

Statistics

• 141 prison sentences were issued, in the first instance, against 1569 suspended sentences for violence against women in 2021.
• 2482 aggressors were attending rehabilitation programs in the second quarter of 2024. GREVIO expresses concern that these programs are being used as an alternative to convictions.
• 30221 domestic violence cases were recorded in 2024, according to the Annual Internal Security Report.
• 67.9% of the victims of domestic violence identified in 2024 were women. More than 78% of the aggressors were men.
• 1019 convicted of domestic violence were in prison at the end of last year.