The Portuguese Association for Victim Support (, APAV) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1990 to support victims of crime and violence in Portugal. It provides free and confidential support to victims and their families and is a founding member of Victim Support Europe (VSE).
On 9 June 2015, APAV was appointed an Honorary Member of the Order of Liberty.
History APAV was founded in Lisbon on 25 June 1990 by 27 founding members as a civil-society initiative aimed at strengthening social responses to victims of crime. Between 1990 and 1994, the organisation operated under a founding commission, which focused on establishing a small network of victim support offices staffed by volunteers and fostering cooperation with European counterparts. The first elections for APAV's governing bodies were held in 1994. Over the following decades, it expanded its activities and strengthened collaboration with national and European organisations working on victims' rights.
Activities APAV operates a nationwide network of community-based services providing psychological, social and legal support to victims of all types of crime, free of charge and in confidence. Its proximity services include 21 permanent Victim Support Offices (Gabinetes de Apoio à Vítima), four mobile victim support teams operating across rural and peri-urban areas, and a network of itinerant support points spanning dozens of municipalities.
Remote support is provided through the national Victim Support Helpline (116 006), available free of charge on weekdays, and an online chat service available around the clock. A separate Safer Internet Helpline addresses online crime and cyberbullying.
APAV also operates specialist services for particular categories of victims. The CARE Network provides dedicated support to children and young people who have experienced sexual violence, as well as to their families. The Migrant Victims Support Unit (Unidade de Apoio à Vítima Migrante e de Discriminação, UAVMD) assists foreign nationals who are victims of crime, including victims of human trafficking, hate crimes, and discrimination, regardless of their immigration status. Residential shelters for women and children fleeing domestic violence are also part of the organisation's service portfolio.
Beyond direct support, APAV delivers training programmes for professionals including police officers, social workers, and healthcare providers, and conducts public awareness campaigns on victims' rights. Cases are referred to public authorities where appropriate, and the organisation participates in legislative consultations and policy development at both national and European level.
International involvement APAV is a founding member of Victim Support Europe, a European umbrella network of national victim-support organisations, and has held leadership positions within it; in November 2015, APAV's then-director João Lázaro was elected President of Victim Support Europe. Within this framework, APAV participates in cross-border initiatives, working groups and policy discussions related to victim protection and harmonisation of best practices.
The organisation has led and participated in several European Commission-funded projects. These include the Victims in Europe project (2007–2009), which assessed the implementation of the EU Framework Decision on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings across all 27 member states, and the IVOR project (2014–2016), which examined victim-oriented reform of criminal justice systems across the European Union. APAV also contributed civil society submissions to the Council of Europe's monitoring process under the Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women.
Recent developments Between 2022 and 2024, APAV supported 36,489 women, representing an overall increase of 11.1% over the three-year period, with domestic violence accounting for approximately 85% of cases. Requests for support from foreign nationals rose by 29.7% over the same period.
During 2022 and 2023, APAV delivered 1,442 training sessions and 1,566 awareness activities, reaching more than 33,000 participants. In 2022, the organisation launched the "MY APAV" mobile web application to improve victim access to information and to support volunteer coordination. The operating hours of its domestic violence helpline (SIAD) were also extended during this period.
Honours Honorary Member of the Order of Liberty (2015).
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