Domestic violence – a retrospective study witn significant changes

Exposition to domestic violence (VD) has repercussions on children’s emotional, cognitive and social development. Also, being a witnesses increases the intergenerational transmission of violent behaviours. This study aimed to characterize temporal trends related to notifications of VD in Portugal. A retrospective study was developed based on secondary data on the number of VD cases in Portugal, reported and recorded, between 2002 and 2015, by the Ministry of Internal Administration. Likewise, population data were collected in the same time period, published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.To handle the data, the software Joinpoint, version 4.4.0.0 was used to estimate the regression for each trend. The findings revealed significant changes in two moments during the period under analysis. From 2002 to 2010 there was a decrease in reported cases of VD. However, in the period from 2010 to 2015, there was a reversal of this trend, with a very significant increase in reported cases. The annual growth rate was 5.8% for a 95% confidence interval (95% CI). The management of VD requires a combined effort of law enforcement, health policies, social welfare and healthcare services. VD prevention can be brought through emotional education interventions for parents.

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