Portugal records 54,275 crimes against elderly people over three years as domestic abuse cases climb

Three-year crime trends and figures

Portugal's Public Security Police (PSP) registered 54,275 crimes against elderly citizens between 2023 and 2025, according to figures released on Thursday for the International Day of Older Persons. Annual reports showed a pattern of stabilization in the post-pandemic period, with 18,432 complaints filed in 2023, 17,613 in 2024, and 18,230 in 2025. Property crimes remained prevalent across the three years, led by fraud and thefts, while physical assaults and domestic violence dominated offences against persons. Victims had an average age of 73 years. Male victims predominantly suffered property crimes, whereas female victims were most frequently targeted in crimes against persons.

The trend is toward relative stabilization. When we analyze reported crime against the elderly in the post-Covid period, especially in the years 23, 24, and 25, we realize there is a stabilization trend between 17,500 and 18,500 reports per year.

Rise in domestic violence and filioparental abuse

Domestic violence accounts for roughly 10% of all recorded crimes against older adults in Portugal, reaching 1,894 cases in 2025. Police reported that between 40% and 45% of these domestic violence cases involve filioparental abuse, where adult children victimize their elderly parents. In 2025, 44% of domestic abuse cases involving the elderly fell into non-conjugal categories. Hugo Guinote, head of the PSP Criminal Prevention and Community Policing Division, explained that victims in these cases are typically between 70 and 75 years old. The perpetrators are often adult children living in the same home who struggle with economic dependency, alcohol abuse, or drug addiction.

Special attention is needed for domestic violence crimes. We have witnessed an increase in reported complaints of filioparental violence, which is committed by children against parents.

Reporting barriers and crime distribution

Guinote noted that parents frequently hesitate to report abusive children due to parental protective instincts and feelings of personal failure in raising them. This hesitation delays police intervention and increases physical risks for vulnerable parents, prompting police to urge neighbours and relatives to report signs of mistreatment promptly. Beyond domestic abuse, the 2025 figures recorded 1,248 cases of simple physical assault, 1,227 pickpocketing incidents, 997 residential thefts, 853 scams, and 825 cases of threat and coercion. Pickpocketing targeting older adults has shown an upward trend since 2024, when 1,006 incidents were recorded.

Summer prevention campaign and isolated seniors

Alongside crime statistics, the PSP released results from its 14th annual nationwide summer operation, titled Solidarity Has No Age (A Solidariedade Não Tem Idade), conducted between 27 July and 25 September 2026 in urban centres across Portugal. Specialized officers from Victim Support and Community Teams (EPAV) made 2,240 individual contacts with older residents. The operation flagged 461 elderly individuals and referred 318 vulnerable cases to partner social support institutions. Among those referred, 294 people were determined to be living in high-risk conditions, including 139 seniors facing severe lack of autonomy and 68 experiencing complete absence of a social contact network. Officers also conducted hundreds of door-to-door and community awareness campaigns in day centres and nursing homes to teach self-protection measures during daily shopping and cash withdrawals.