A VIOLÊNCIA DOMÉSTICA: REFLEXÕES SOBRE A RESPOSTA DA LEI PENAL PORTUGUESA

The Domestic Violence: Reflections On The Response Of Portuguese Criminal Law

Abstract

The legislative evolution that has come to structure article 152˚ as it is applied today reflects the legislator's intention, especially in preventing and repressing the crime of domestic violence. In the attempt to punish conduct that goes beyond the boundaries of intra-family relations, when it is understood that cohabitation is not necessary to constitute the crime of domestic violence, it is already clear that the initial idea of protecting the family institution has been removed, thus distancing the relationship from the legal asset protected as being exclusively family relations, but rather a set of behaviors that goes beyond the victim's health and protects other assets such as physical, psychological, moral, economic integrity, personal and sexual freedoms and honor itself.

The successive legislative changes resulting from the evolution at the heart of these relationships have been concerned with punishing conduct that uses trust with the victim and even exercises power of control over them, with the intention of degrading or humiliating them.

In order for the fight against the crime of domestic violence to become effective, it is essential to raise social awareness, but from a political-criminal point of view, attention must be focused on protecting the victim and re-socializing the aggressor, by implementing robust systems for monitoring accessory sentences and intervention programs for aggressors that prove to be capable and efficient, respectively.