The APAV data, released on the occasion of the European Day for Victims of Crime, celebrated on 22 February, shows a growing trend in the number of people supported since 2020, when they helped 13,093 people.

The total number increased to 13,234 the following year, then to 14,688 in 2022, 16,185 in 2023, and 16,630 in 2024. From now until 2025, growth has been 11.5%.

According to APAV, this increase in the number of people seeking help from the institution is explained not only by the "scope of services" of the association, but also by the growth of some forms of crime, especially domestic violence.

According to Carla Ferreira, technical advisor to the APAV management, compared to 2024, the number of crimes reported in the context of domestic violence increased by 10%, although in the total number of crimes, the weight of domestic violence decreased by about 2%.

APAV data shows that the more than 18,500 victims assisted in 2025 correspond to 35,341 crimes and other forms of violence, which represents an increase of 13.1% compared to 2024.

Within the more than 35,300 crimes, 26,124 reports of domestic violence which represents 73.9% of the total crimes.

In addition to domestic violence, APAV also recorded 1,076 cases of child sexual abuse content, 889 offences against physical integrity, 864 cases of child sexual abuse, 858 reports of coercion or threats, 662 for defamation, 576 for discrimination or incitement to hatred, 539 scams, 239 cases of stalking, and 232 rapes of adults.

Victim Profile

The general profile of the victim is female (75.5%), with an average age of 37 years, who sought help for crimes of domestic violence (75.7%).

The 18,549 victims registered in 2025 mean APAV supported, on average, 357 people per week, 51 per day, and 2 per hour.

Elderly

Analysing by groups, the profile of the elderly victim also shows that she is a woman, 76 years old, whose aggressor is her children or spouse, and she seeks help mainly due to domestic violence (81.2%). In total, APAV helped 2,017 elderly people in 2025.

Children and young people

Regarding children and young people, more than half (58.1%) are female, with an average age of 10 years, whose aggressors are parents or stepparents, and are victims not only of domestic violence (60.4%), but also filmed for sexual abuse content (14.5%).

Men

Among adult men, the average age is 48 years, victims of domestic violence crimes (65.5%), whose aggressor is divided between spouse (12.7%) and children (9.7%), with APAV registering six cases per day.

Women

Among adult women, the average age is 45 years, and victims of domestic violence (85.8%) are at the hands of spouses (20%) or ex-partners (14.2%). APAV supported 10,327 women in 2025, an average of 28 per day.