Children assault parents eight times a day: PSP and GNR open 1474 cases in six months
PSP and GNR recorded 1474 cases of child-on-parent violence in the first semester. Women are the most frequent victims, three times more than men.
Child-on-parent violence: eight complaints per day in first six months of year
The PSP and GNR opened 1474 cases relating to assaults by children against parents during the first six months of 2025 — an average of eight complaints per day, according to data reported by Correio da Manhã based on information provided by the two security forces to Renascença.
Despite the scale of the figures, a 6% reduction was recorded compared with the same period in 2024, when 2802 cases were recorded. In 2025, the annual total points to 2639 cases, equivalent to seven complaints daily.
Women aged 41 to 74 most affected
Data from the GNR allows for a more detailed profile of victims to be drawn. Women are a more frequent target than men: the number of complaints of assaults by children against mothers or stepmothers is triple that recorded in relation to fathers or stepfathers. The age group most affected is women aged between 41 and 74 years.
Bruno Pereira, president of the National Union of PSP Officers (SNOP), considers that the figures known represent only part of the problem. "Perhaps there are not more situations reported, even more so than between wife and husband, because parents naturally have a natural protection towards their children, which ceases only with their death," he said.
Fatal cases marked 2025
Throughout this year, several episodes of fatal violence between parents and children made headlines. In August, a 15-year-old adolescent confessed to killing his mother by strangulation following an argument, in Dafundo, in Algés, in the municipality of Oeiras. In the same month, a 50-year-old man, a teacher, set fire to a house in Viana do Castelo and caused the death of his mother. In July, an 11-year-old child stabbed his father in an arm and leg, in São Domingos de Benfica, Lisbon, to protect his mother during an assault between the two.
PSP identifies 59 elderly at risk during national operation
In parallel, the PSP flagged 59 elderly persons as potential victims of the repeated practice of crimes within the operation "Solidarity has no age – the PSP with the elderly", with an end date marked for 25 September. The operation involved 386 contacts at national level, from which 284 elderly persons were identified, of which 182 were in a situation of social risk.
Among the vulnerability factors detected, 77 elderly persons presented lack of autonomy, 48 absence of contact network, 34 a serious clinical condition, 26 inhabited degrading conditions, 21 had economic insufficiency and 19 found themselves in a situation of complete social exclusion.
Source: Correio da Manhã