MENDES BOTA, leader of the Partido Social Democrata (PSD), the Social Democratic Party in the Algarve, is travelling across Europe to raise awareness and campaign against domestic violence.
Mendes Bota was due to attend a conference dedicated to domestic violence in Strasbourg yesterday (Thursday) along with the Portuguese Ambassador to the European council, Américo Madeira Bárbara.
On June 25, the politician led a debate at the Assembleia da República in Bragança, one of the worst regions in the country for helping victims of domestic violence.
Victims
The next day, he visited three institutions which house victims of domestic violence in Vila Flor, Macedo de Cavaleiros and Bragança in northern Portugal. Only one of those institutions was equipped and able to cope with victims’ needs, with another not open yet and the other only able to house five victims.
In the afternoon, the group from the Assembleia da República attended one of four regional conferences dedicated to the subject, which was organised by them with the support of Bragança Câmara.
Mendes Bota revealed that, last year alone, 39 women were murdered and a further 43 suffered murder attempts, with 15 per cent of those crimes being linked to marital problems.
These figures make Portugal one of the worst countries in Europe for domestic violence, which the politician said was “the shame of the country”.
Do you have a view on this story? Email: editor@portugalresident.com
