On 6 June, a man was arrested on suspicion of fatally running over a woman in the context of Domestic Violence (CEO), in the municipality of Matosinhos, knowing today, that the entire system that was supposed to protect this woman failed.
Rogério COPETO
Colonel of the GNR
Master in Law and Security and Homeland Security Auditor
It is now known that this victim of 36 years ago she was run over by her ex-boyfriend, against whom he had filed a complaint 13 days before his death, whose result of risk assessment resulted in a low risk classification and that the protective measure Teleassistance for DV victims was given to him on the day he died.
It is known about the aggressor that he has 41 year old, He had already been arrested for stabbing another ex-girlfriend to death., for which he was sentenced in 2011 to a penalty of 15 and a half years, but was released on parole in December 2019 and that after leaving prison, faced a new DV charge in 2020, but there was no conviction.
This serious occurrence exposes the weaknesses of a system of protection for DV victims that does not exist and that needs to be implemented, The aim of this article is to contribute to the creation of this system.
But before reiterating our proposals, It is important to remember that through Homeland Security Annual Report 2023 (Perhaps 2023), we learned that criminal police bodies were informed (OPC) 30.461 crimes of VD em 2023, verifying a decrease in 0,1% compared with the year 2022, when they were participated 30.488 crimes, the crime of “domestic violence against a spouse or similar” being the one that was most often reported to the OPC, in total 26.041 times.
we last 10 years it turns out that between 2014 and 2018 VD remained relatively stable between 26.500 and 27.300 crimes, having 2019 increased to close to the 29.500, dropped in the years of the COVID19 pandemic to around 26.500 crimes, increasing 2022 close to the 30.500 and staying in 2023, as already mentioned.
It is also important to mention the work that Domestic Violence Homicide Retrospective Analysis Team (EARHVD) carried out between 2016 and 2022, whose mission was to retrospectively analyze situations of homicide that occurred in the context of domestic violence and that had been the subject of a final court decision or a decision to archive or not prosecute, aiming to draw conclusions that would allow the implementation of new preventive methodologies in terms of the respective procedures and also the production of recommendations to public or private entities intervening in this field, having been drawn up 22 reports and their recommendations.
At this point, We reiterate that the fault lies in a protection system for DV victims that does not exist, It is therefore urgent to create a true protection system.
The proposal involves the creation of structures similar to those Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC), as they exist in the United Kingdom and which we could call Multidisciplinary Domestic Violence Risk Assessment Committees (CoMARVD), will like the Children Protection Committees and Youth in Danger (CPCJ), the same being composed of representatives of all institutions and organizations that deal with the phenomenon of VD, such as Education, the Social Security, the Health Services, the Security Forces, the local authorities, as ONG, etc., under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP), positioning its intervention between First Line Entities and the Courts, as with the CPCJ.
As CoMARVD, They would have so much more power than the "support offices to victims of VD", meanwhile created in several Investigation and Criminal Action Departments (DIAP), Its main task the analysis of all the elaborate risk assessment forms, including low-risk and especially high-risk, with the possibility to apply urgent measures to protect victims and removal of the attackers, less than 72 hours, with subsequent sanction by the Court, copies of the entire file are sent to these committees, including the risk assessment form and the respective standard news report, at the same time as sending to the MP.
The CoMARVD still would be able to apply the measure of protection for remote assistance to all victims of VD, simply for the purpose, an order of(a) President of CoMARVD, and not from the Judge or, during the investigation stage, do MP, thus reducing the bureaucratic burden and the time between the occurrence and the attribution of the Teleassistance Service.
The implementation of CoMARVD would therefore bring several benefits, both for victims of DV, as well as for the professionals involved, whose main benefit would be the improvement of coordination between different institutions and professionals, which could result in more effective intervention and reduced risk for victims, also ensuring effective and safe communication between the different institutions and professionals involved, necessary for this, create a secure digital platform that allows information to be shared quickly and effectively, while ensuring data privacy and confidentiality.
The creation of CoMARVD can be an additional and complementary measure to the existing ones to prevent and combat DV in Portugal, whose operation is based on sharing information between professionals from different areas, adapting this work model to the needs and resources available in the country, whose professionals involved would be guaranteed the necessary adequate training, in order to ensure the uniformity and quality of the intervention.
With regard to the Telecare Service RV Victims, we propose that the responsibility for its operation pass to the FS, no longer falling under the jurisdiction of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG) and the Portuguese Red Cross (CVP), not in this proposal a critique of how both institutions have managed to get the job done, but yes, because the closer the victims have VD of FS, the faster the response of these to emergencies, eliminating the intermediate, It is fair to say that the FS bears much of the responsibility for the success of this service and that it has already saved countless lives.
The risk assessment instrument should also be updated, so that the results are as close as possible to the risk the victim faces.
It is also urgent for the Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Database to become operational (BDVMVD), that brings together all the data collected by the FS, verifying that it will probably not yet be in 2024, as stated not RASI 2023 “…tender procedure was launched to acquire BDVMVD development services”.
for these reasons, it appears that only the creation of CoMARVD, it will be possible to get all institutions to work together and in coordination, preventing failures, which, however small they may be, lead to homicides in the context of intimate relationships.
Note: The text constitutes the exclusive and unique opinion of its author, which only binds to this and do not reflect the opinion or position of the institution where it provides services.
