An average of four women are the victims of physical aggression every day in Cape Verde. This shameful reality was denounced yesterday, November 25, International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women. Last year alone, the network assisting victims of domestic violence in Cape Verde received a total of 854 complaints in Praia and 157 in São Vicente. Of these women, 122 were given legal assistance and 113 of them psychological support.

The studies available point toward various different types of violence ranging from physical to psychological. And the agencies that deal with this social phenomenon reveal a depressing reality: on average, four women are the victims of aggression every day in the country.

According to the agencies, domestic violence appears to be deeply rooted in Cape Verdean culture. Unfortunately, only very recently – beginning in 2004 – has data begun to be compiled and studied. In July 2002, Praia’s Agostinho Neto Hospital opened a service to attend to victims of domestic violence, which just six months later had already registered 246 complaints.

But the existence of this service has not always been consensual. For example, the Cape Verdean Institute for Gender Equality and Equity (ICIEG) has no information for the month of January 2005 due to disagreements between the hospital’s directorship and the police, a situation that for all intents and purposes forced the service to remain closed during that month. The service once again began operating in 2006, and throughout the year received a total of 551 formal complaints, 90% of which were forwarded on to the Public Ministry. In 2007, complaints rose to 854.

The service began to be offered on the island of São Vicente in November of 2005, and attended to 59 victims of domestic violence before the end of the year. In 2006, only 85 cases were attended to as a result of the lack of confidentiality experienced at the service, according to information from the ICIEG. In 2007, the São Vicente service received 157 formal complaints, 122 of which were given legal support and 113 psychological support. Between January and July of 2008, 60 victims of domestic violence were given legal aid. In the city of Assomada, on the island of Santiago, the service began to be offered in 2006, with a total of 59 complaints registered that year. The same figure, however, was registered on the first six months of 2007 alone, which reveals that rural women have also begun to affirm their right to denounce mistreatment at the hands of their partners.

This is but some of the data used in the Victim Support Techniques course that began November 20 on the island of Sal as a part of the commemorations of International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women. Studies that have been carried out show that gender violence has been a constant throughout changing times in Cape Verde, affecting women of all social strata and categories.