"Prevention is the right bet, combined with an interconnected system between the police, the public prosecutor's office, the ICIEG [Cape Verdean Institute for Gender Equality and Equity], and the health system, to achieve better results than the current ones", the Head of State requested.

José Maria Neves spoke via zoom from Praia, at the opening of an international reflection conference on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which is taking place on the island of Fogo.

For the Cape Verdean Head of State, the country must "make every effort" to detect GBV early and thus avoid "social and family dramas".

"We are facing a calamity that affects all social classes, on all islands, both in urban and rural areas", he warned.

For the Head of State, empowering families is one of the "most effective" ways to combat GBV, a crime that is public, but several constraints lead to those who suffer from it not reporting it.

The ICIEG estimates that only 40% of cases of violence reach the authorities and considers it especially serious that, among the situations that remain in the shadows, there are deaths that are not properly reported.

"Since it is a public crime, the involvement of society in reporting it is important", he said, emphasizing the "much more special" nature of law enforcement officers.

"This is the case of police entities, civil servants, doctors and health technicians, when, in the exercise of their functions, they become aware of the practice of this crime", he listed.

In his speech, the President of the Republic also considered that violence in dating "must be fought" and that the role of civil society and government bodies is "fundamental" for this.

In March, José Maria Neves classified cases of gender-based violence as "a stain" on Cape Verde, in reaction to the murder of a young woman allegedly perpetrated by her partner, which shocked public opinion.

The number of new cases in Cape Verdean courts related to crimes of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) increased by 5.7% in the last judicial year (2022-23) compared to the previous year, reaching 1,971, according to the Public Ministry.

With these entries and the cases that were pending, the number of pending cases increased by 16.2% in the last judicial year, to 2,688.

GBV crimes generally include physical violence, in the family or in dating, domestic violence, psychological, emotional or sexual violence, with women being the main victims.

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