The Portuguese Association for Victim Support in the Azores (APAV) has registered an increase in requests for support due to domestic violence, about 20% compared to 2021. The data were disclosed by Raquel Rebelo, manager of APAV's Victim Support Office in Ponta Delgada.

We have been receiving more support requests when compared to the same period," the manager points out, indicating that the numbers are similar to those recorded in 2019, before the pandemic.

"In quantitative terms, we can see that there has been an increase in the level of requests for support, compared to 2021, of about 20%. This would represent an average of 200 cases by October, but this number is not fully determined yet," she stressed.

Statistically, support for women victims of domestic violence still prevails. As for the elderly, the number of victims has increased, especially in cases where the alleged aggressors are their children.
According to Rebelo, these figures are related to the end of the restrictions imposed by Covid-19, which led people to be more available to report cases of violence. Also, they now have "safer ways to receive support, because when they were confined, many times, they were with the alleged aggressors".

With the inflationary crisis still in its early days, Raquel Rebelo believes that it may be a risk factor for the emergence of more complaints, but it is not exclusive.

"The economic factor does not come alone, it is associated with family problems, situations where communication is no longer healthy, forms of conflict resolution, coping strategies. From our analysis, the economic factor may be a risk factor, but it is not the only one.”