The APAV data released today on the occasion of International Women’s Day show an overall increase of 22.8% between 2022 and 2025, during which they helped 14,006 female victims.
Between 2022 and 2025, APAV supported 50,495 female victims, with continuous growth: 11,410 in 2022, 12,398 in 2023, 12,681 in 2024, and 14,006 in 2025, representing an overall increase of 22.8%.
In the last four years, 97,149 crimes and forms of violence against women have been reported to APAV, corresponding to an increase of 21.7%.
On average, each woman supported was the victim of two crimes simultaneously, APAV points out.
APAV data indicate that crimes of domestic violence continue to predominate, representing 81.1% of reported cases, followed by crimes such as threats or coercion, sexual abuse of children, physical assault, defamation or slander, and fraud.
According to AAPAV, indicates that 61.8% of victims are adults (18-64), 15.3% are children and youth up to 17 (the fastest-growing group at +47.2%), 10.5% are elderly (65+), 74% are Portuguese, and 17% are foreign (an increase of 58.6%). Young people aged 17 or under account for 15.3% and are the group that saw the most significant growth in the period analysed (+47.2%).
Elderly people aged 65 or over account for 10.5% of the victims supported.
In terms of nationality, 74% of victims are Portuguese citizens, with 8,587 foreign women (17%) also receiving support, a figure that increased by 58.6% over the period analysed.
Most of the victims resided in the districts of Lisbon, Faro, Porto, Braga and Setúbal, largely reflecting the country’s population distribution.
Between 2022 and 2025, 51,769 perpetrators were identified, an increase of 28%, of whom the majority were male (71.2%).
In almost half of the cases, the perpetrators were or had been in an intimate relationship with the victim.
APAV data also indicate that ‘more than half of the women suffered continued victimisation, with a significant proportion seeking support only after several years of violence’.