Interpersonal Violence Among Immigrants in Portugal

Sónia Dias, Sílvia Fraga, Henrique Barros

To assess prevalence of interpersonal violence among a mixed gender sample of immigrants in Portugal, describing the type of violence and associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2008 and May 2009, evaluating a sample of 702 immigrants residing in the Lisbon region. Information was obtained by trained interviewers using a structured questionnaire. Overall, 15.1 % (15.5 % females and 14.7 % males; p = 0.844) of the immigrants reported to be victims of at least one episode of violence during the last year, regardless of which type of violence was involved. The prevalence of intimate-partner violence was 4.1 %, and it was significantly higher among women than men (7.1 % vs. 0.9 %, respectively, p < 0.001). Women who reported being victims of violence during the previous year stated that the episodes occurred more often at home (54.4 %) with the partner as the perpetrator (43.9 %). On the other hand, male victims stated that the violent episodes occurred mostly in public spaces (40.8 %); men indicated that the perpetrator was frequently a stranger (28.6 %) or a co-worker (18.4 %). Violence is a frequent problem among both female and male immigrants living in Portugal, with different gender patterns regarding the perpetrators and settings of abuse.