Of Portugal’s victims of domestic violence, 15% percent are male and until now they have had no safe place to turn to for help and support.
The Algarve now has the first official shelter in Portugal for male victims of domestic violence and abuse, a pilot project that will be managed by the António Silva Leal Foundation.
The unit, with capacity for 10 people, opens this coming weekend and operates in much the same way as the country's 40 shelters for women.
The pilot project was signed off on Wednesday in Faro at a ceremony that was attended by the Deputy Minister Eduardo Cabrita and the Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality, Catarina Marcelino.
"The property will be fully operational from October 1st and will operate in exactly the same way as facilities that already exist for women," said Carlos Andrade, president of the foundation.
"From the moment that we receive the victims, we will give them psychological support, social and health care and help them rebuild their lives," said Andrade who said it was the staff that had years of experience working in the area of domestic violence and abuse that showed the foundation that there was a gap in services for male victims.
Andrade added that, in the case of male victims “psychological violence has a greater impact” than when the victims are women and children.
Eduardo Cabrita said a taboo has been broken with the launch of this shelter in the Algarve and that the size of the problem could not be considered insignificant.
"In 15% of cases reported, the victims are male. These men are in fragile state and often suffering from a family breakdown. This is a problem that affects a few thousand people in the country and hundreds here in the Algarve," some of which already are lined up to be the first residents of the shelter.
In addition to being kept safe, victims are entitled to “legal advice, and psychological and social support. We will give visibility to this issue, so that the security forces can act with the same quality and capacity as they do in relation to women," added Cabrita.
"Domestic violence was a hidden reality until a few decades ago. Things have changed a lot since then, as have the security forces and domestic violence now is a crime. Such violence is mainly against women and probably will continue to be. For this we have an integrated response, with a network of 40 shelters with a capacity for 800 victims' said Eduardo Cabrita.
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