Domestic violence risk assessment forms will be revised to include all victims, namely children, older people or people with other related vulnerabilities, and are expected to be available from the end of 2024.
A source from the Attorney General’s Office, an organization that was part of a multidisciplinary technical committee to improve the prevention and control of domestic violence, told Lusa that the working group “concluded that a revision of the Domestic Violence Risk Assessment Form was necessary.”
According to the same source, the working group determined that it was “necessary” for this review to “consist [nas Fichas de Avaliação de Risco] analysis of risk factors for victimization for all victims of domestic violence, including children, older adults, and other victims with related vulnerabilities that are not currently covered.”
He added that the current form, created in 2014, is “heavily geared toward family or similar situations.”
A €115,500 tender was opened on 13 October “for the procurement of services to validate the risk assessment tool”, but a source at the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) said that “it is not yet possible to expect that changes will be made” to the risk assessment form.
However, he acknowledged that “some of the guiding assumptions of this review process” include “taking into account the different features of risk assessment in its different typologies (intimate relationships or violence against children, older people and non-elderly parents, among other examples).” .
According to the same source, the changes being made will be the result of “scientific research and resulting proposals, which will be presented by a multidisciplinary team of experts responsible for its implementation.”
It will also assess whether adjustments are needed in domestic violence risk assessments based on different types of violence, such as psychological, economic and/or property violence, stalking or coercive control.
Another guiding assumption is to understand how the use of multiple sources of information to conduct risk assessments can be improved, also taking into account the need for updates from a risk management perspective and indicative timelines for reassessment.
It is also a guiding assumption that “adjustments need to be made to the risk factors, risk levels, the way the instrument is quoted and the algorithm for determining the risk level,” in addition to assessing the need to simplify the language used. in the records.
It will also assess what impact the introduction of the risk of domestic violence has had “in terms of criminal procedure procedures, particularly in terms of the application of safeguards and police or coercion to the aggressor, and in terms of promoting the safety of victims.
On the other hand, it will analyze what specific adjustments can be made to the procedures provided for in the context of domestic violence, for example to the functional guidelines for action within 72 hours of a complaint, or to the operational needs of different users. , “arising from different moments of the criminal process” and different levels of professional specialization.
MAI stated that completion of this process “shall occur within a maximum of 10 months from the date of service.” The deadline for submitting proposals was October 31.
“The new uniform is expected to be provided to the security forces by the end of 2024,” he also said.