Domestic violence: a multidisciplinary reflection beyond crime

Domestic violence remains a particularly serious social problem, not only in Portugal but also elsewhere. It is a complex phenomenon, with devastating consequences for victims and their families, and its multifaceted causes are difficult to grasp even with the most accurate criminological analysis. The main objective is to align the diversity of scientific and theoretical debates with a focus on prevention that is sufficiently open to the serious and definitive integration of a new component in the complex equation of the problem of domestic violence: the role of education in fostering a culture of citizenship and respect for fundamental human rights. To this end, knowledge from psychology, social sciences, and educational sciences, as well as its intersection with legal-penal knowledge, will be crucial for synergy capable of contributing to more appropriate public policies.

The project includes a study segment in the field of educational sciences. It is known that education occurs in different spaces, forms, and modalities. School is a space for the development of formal and informal education, where individual and social identities are constructed, principles and experiences are shared, and individual and collective stories are created. The educational community both supports and contradicts the paradigms and values shared by all involved parties. In this context, and given that domestic violence continues to be a reality in society, schools play a fundamental role in raising awareness and educating against this social scourge. Therefore, it becomes urgent that all participants in the educational community are knowledgeable not only about the problem but also about the social, criminal, and educational policies and actions that promote social justice.

In this context, one of the tasks planned in the primary prevention component is the case study in school clusters (one in Lisbon and another in Porto). The Lisbon School Cluster does not have an autonomous Project against Domestic Violence, unlike the Porto School Cluster.