Our History

Founded in June of 1990, the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) is a non-profit and voluntary-based organisation which mission is to provide personalised and professional support to victims of crimes, guaranteeing the confidentiality and free of charge.

Near the end of the 1990s and beginning of 2000, Portugal experienced a new wave of immigration into the country and it was found that immigrants who had crimes committed against them actually lacked of specialised support. This reality left immigrants to be vulnerable members of the population namely because they typically lack the knowledge of the Portuguese social and legal systems and of the specific cultural aspects that conditioned intervention strategies. Many of the immigrants were also undocumented and therefore lacked the rights granted to regular citizens. Realising the extent of this reality, APAV sought to better their services by creating new strategies of intervention and support. So in 2005, APAV collaborated with the High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue (ACIDI) – previously known as ACIME, to develop the Support Unit for Immigrant Victims (Unidade de Apoio à Vítima Migrante – UAVM), which has been running since. 

[Protocol Between ACIME and APAV]