Sex crimes against minors has tripled between 2002 and 2007, now counting an average 1,400 cases per year.

According to figures released by the Portuguese prosecutors’ office (PGR), the number of cases relating to sex crimes against minors has tripled between 2002 and 2007, now counting an average 1,400 cases per year.These figures were established through a report by the Institutionalized Child’s Abuse and Sexual Commerce Protection Group, based on data supplied by the PJ police information unit.
It further states “the total number of crimes involving children and minors has risen between 2003 and 2007 by 628”.In 2007 alone, 561 cases of child abuse were instigated in the region of Lisbon, 23 more than in 2006, and 27 more than 2005.
The group has described this trend as being “very worrying”, given the “accentuated fall in victims’ ages, which in some cases reported as being less than one year old”.
Around 34.86 percent of cases involve some form of family relation between aggressor and victim, whilst the scene of crime in 46.14 percent of cases is the place of residence.Another major concern is the distribution of child pornography on the internet.In Lisbon, in 2007, 67 cases were investigated relating to child pornography, and nine missing children’s cases caused by online contact were successfully resolved.