The results of the Survey on Safety in Public and Private Spaces reveal that more than 1.4 million people aged 18 to 74 have experienced violence during childhood (18.6%), up to the age of 15: more than 1.3 million people (17.6%) with both parents have been subjected to some kind of psychological or physical abuse from their parents, and more than 176 thousand (2.3%) have been victims of sexual abuse during childhood by someone.

One in every five people has been the victim of stalking (20.7%), a higher proportion among women (23.8%), the younger population (27.6%) and those with a higher level of education (29.0%).

Considering all contexts of violence throughout life, more than two-fifths of the population (44.8%) have experienced at least one situation of violence. The Alentejo region stands out with the lowest proportion (37.8%), while the autonomous regions of Madeira (48.1%) and Açores (46.9%) and Área Metropolitana de Lisboa (46.8%) have the highest proportions. The prevalence of violence is higher among those with a higher level of education (49.4%).

Considering only violence against women, Portugal generally belongs to the group of European Union countries with the lowest proportions of violence.

Victims of non-partner violence were the most likely to report their experiences of violence (66.8%) and victims of sexual violence during childhood were the most likely to keep silent (29.4%). Around half of the victims in an intimate context spoke to someone or some organisation about what happened.

Psychological and physical consequences as a result of the violence were most frequently mentioned by victims of intimate partner violence.

More than three-quarters of the population (75.8%) consider intimate partner violence against women to be very common. More than two-fifths (42.0%) have a similar opinion of violence against men by female partners.

Awareness of the various support services/structures for victims was lower among the group of people who had already experienced some type of violence.