The preliminary results of a study by the Instituto de Apoio à Criança (IAC) in partnership with the PJ were presented at the conference “Cuidar e Proteger: Prevenir a Violência sobre as Crianças,” held today at the police headquarters in Lisbon.
According to the study coordinator, Fernanda Salvaterra, out of the 66 children killed (one death registered in 2009 but discovered in 2010), 40% were newborns, and 30% were under three years old, while the rest were older. In 64% of the cases, the mother was responsible, the father in 12%, both parents in 9%, along with other family members and combinations.
For the 26 newborns who died, 92% of incidents occurred in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region. Nationally, 11 cases have been analyzed so far through court rulings.
“In these 11 cases, none of the pregnancies were desired, they were hidden, although there was suspicion among family, work colleagues,” Fernanda Salvaterra noted on the sidelines of the conference organized by the IAC. She emphasized that the mothers “felt there was no support” even when “living in a family context.”
She highlighted, “there is a parent that never appears” – an ex-boyfriend or someone who disappeared or “seems to ignore” the pregnancy – and is never indicted or criminally punished.
“They are also responsible for what happened, but the […] mothers themselves assume […] as if it were their fault, as if they themselves had all the responsibility,” she added.
The early start of sexual education and family planning are some of the prevention measures suggested by the researcher.
So far, the IAC has received information from courts about 30% of the 66 cases of children killed that will be analyzed, and the aim is to complete the study by next year.
“We must have some empathy when faced with these facts, and the goal is to possibly find common factors that went unnoticed by family, schools, or health and social services, so that we can be more alert to prevent these situations,” Fernanda Salvaterra concluded.
