A report published by the General-Secretariat of Internal Administration has revealed that, between 2012 and 2018, an average of 80% of inquires into domestic violence were archived, with only less than 17% resulting in persecution.

During the six years covered in the report there were a grand total of 71,752 cases, with the majority of them being archived over lack of substantial evidence.

Last year alone, of all the prosecuted cases, 90% of the offenders ended up with a suspended jail sentence. In other words, the vast majority of those found guilty in court did not have to serve any jail time.

According the Annual Monitoring Report of 2018, both police forces (GNR and PSP) received an average of 2.,203 complaints per month, 72 per day, and 3 per hour.

In spite of such figures, there was a reduction of 1.2% of domestic violence complaints when compared to 2017. Lisbon, Porto, Setubal, Aveiro and Braga were the registered the largest volume of cases respectively.