UMAR encourages reporting of domestic violence and pays tribute to victims

The Union of Women’s Alternative and Response (UMAR) on Tuesday called on society to condemn cases of domestic violence and paid tribute in a “solemn and symbolic” manner to the 25 women killed in Portugal since January.

In honor of the 25 victims, a T-shirt was chosen to hang on the cross, with their name, age, method of murder and location written on it. The T-shirts are purple and yellow for the youngest victim, a seven-year-old child who was killed by his grandfather, and are scattered throughout the exhibition space and cafe in Porto.

In Portugal, 25 women aged between seven and 92 were killed between January and November 15, 2023, 15 of these crimes were femicides (gender-related intentional killings of women).

“I encourage you to report violent situations when you realize they are happening or when you know they exist. Don’t be afraid, the message can be anonymous, don’t condone violence,” was the message from the coordinator of the Help Center. for victims of domestic violence, in Porto, from UMAR, Ilda Afonso, in statements on the sidelines of this tribute.

Ilda Afonso explained that “most of the time what [as pessoas que assistem a episódios de violência doméstica] they pretend not to observe,” behavior that he argued “that if it changes, then this violence must be censored.”

“We know that this is an ongoing process, it does not start on that day, not on the day the woman was killed, and if there is a complaint, then now the victim feels that someone cares about her, the aggressor knows that he is being blamed for his behavior, and the authorities know and can act,” explained the OMAR leader.

As he emphasized, “information can prevent deaths.”

According to the UMAR leader, “the problem is not the legislation”, but the way it is applied: “Domestic violence is a social crime and we have taken great steps in terms of legislation, such as victim status for children in situations where there is domestic violence against parents. The question is not the law, but the application, how the judicial system applies this law,” he said.

Of the 25 women killed up to November 15, 15 were killed in intimate relationships, four in a family context, two in the context of another crime, one during a specific dispute and three in an omitted context.

Angelina Oliveira, Carla Dias, Carla Fonseca, Clara Rios, Claudia Silva, Conceição Ferreira, Delia Gouveia, Dulce Oliveira, Farana Sadrudin, Gertrudes Costa, Isaltina Gomes, Janedy Borgwardt, Joana Nascimento, Lara, Lara Pereira, Lucinda Carvalho, Margarida Silva, Maria Alice Furriela, Maria Antunes, Mariana Jadaugui, Monica Silva, Nuria, Piedade do Patrocinho, Rita Cipriano and Soraya Alexandra are the 25 names written on the 25 T-shirts presented at the exhibition and remembered this Tuesday.

There were 25 murders recorded, but in addition to these crimes, between January and November 15, there were 38 attempted murders of women, 25 of them in the context of femicide.