Murder attempts on women rise

The number of murder attempts on women in 2012 was the highest in the last five years, along with a record number of cases of domestic violence which police had to deal with. According to the feminist group UMAR, there were 52 cases of attempted murder in 2012, 80% of which were committed by husbands or former partners of the victims, and 40 women were murdered, 69% within a marital context. Algarve PSD member of parliament Mendes Bota has recently tried to raise awareness about the problem of domestic violence (see Algarve Resident edition of January 4).