The Observatory of Murdered Women (OMA) of the Union of Alternative and Response Women (UMAR) counted 25 women murdered in Portugal, between the beginning of the year and 15 November, of which 15 were femicides, according to preliminary data released today.
«In 2023, between January 1st and November 15th, 25 women were murdered. Of these 25 women, 15 have enough news and information to classify these murders as femicides. Fifteen women were murdered in the context of an intimate relationship, current or previous, and this was the reason why the crime happened», Cátia Pontedeira, one of the authors of an OMA infographic, told journalists today.
The document was presented today at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto (FPCEUP), with Cátia Pontedeira also explaining that in some cases there was violence prior to the femicides, homicides in which there is gender violence, which occurs because there is "a differential of power between men and women» inherited «from patriarchal society«, considered Carolina Magalhães Dias.
«There may be more deaths due to gender-based violence and we do not have this information from the news», the source of information for preparing the infographic, highlighted Cátia Pontedeira.
In the registered femicides, all committed by men and intimate partners (current or past) of the murdered women, “in at least 12 there was prior violence”, of which in 11 third parties (family, friends, colleagues or authorities) were aware.
Maria José Magalhães, also from UMAR's OMA, pointed out that "the State's negligence in the face of reported violence and death threats persists", since in six reported cases a complaint had already been made, also noting that in some districts "it continues to give little importance to this violence”.
Frederica Armada, another of the authors, pointed out that in Portugal there still persists, at a cultural level, «the notion that 'a dog that barks doesn't bite'”, with the devaluation of threats by the aggressor with excuses such as “being drunk” or having “a bad day.”
There was also criticism of some “unspeakable” court sentences, highlighted Cátia Pontedeira, saying that in many cases only a homicide is judged, ignoring “years of violence that are not recognized as an extra crime” and the circumstances of the crime, often macabre, using various weapons.
«It is not just a homicide that happens by mere chance, as it is often described. Most of these homicides, these femicides, are acts carried out with complete intention, that no one stops them, often premeditated", and not something "that happened because the offenders were 'blind with jealousy'".
For Maria José Magalhães, «it is necessary to stop the aggressors and change the paradigm», considering it «necessary to invest in prevention» and in the education «of boys and young men», since «society socializes boys into the 'imperial self' and for the use of violence”.
Nuno Gradim, from the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG), also defended the «deconstruction of certain types of stereotypes, of some toxic masculinity that analyzes intimate relationships as relationships of control and power».
This power “is related to mimetic forms of a patriarchal society, in which the family itself often reiterates and replicates these relationships”, he warned.
The UMAR observatory also counted 10 non-femicide murders: four in a family context, two in a crime context, one due to a specific discussion and three in an omitted context.
There were also 38 attempted murders of women, of which 25 were femicides.
A report will be produced at the end of the year with complete data for 2023. In 2022, until November 15, there were 28 murders of women, of which 22 were femicides.
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