Two children killed by family members in Portugal within seven days
Two children lost their lives in less than seven days in crimes committed by family members. Experts are calling for greater attention to warning signs in domestic violence contexts.
Two children killed by family members in Portugal within seven days
Portugal witnessed, within the space of a week, the homicide of two children by people from their own household, a scenario that is generating strong calls for better early detection of at-risk situations.
The first victim, a girl named Lara, was killed by her stepmother on Wednesday, in an area of Trás-os-Montes. Days later, in the early hours of Sunday, an individual threw himself from an eighth-floor building in Santarém, taking with him his four-year-old daughter. The incident is said to have occurred following an argument with the child's mother.
Police authorities confirmed to the press that the family in the Santarém case was already known to have previous records related to domestic violence. This circumstance raises questions about whether the earlier warnings were properly used to prevent the tragedy.
Dulce Rocha, who previously directed the Institute for Child Support, is calling for danger signals to be taken more seriously, even when the initial impression is that they do not represent a serious threat. According to the former director, protecting minors in troubled family environments requires swift and decisive action from the first signs of a problem.
The succession of these two crimes in such a short time reignites the debate on how Portugal is tackling domestic violence, particularly when the victims are minors.
Source: Público