The measures implemented to combat the COVID-19 pandemic led populations to confinement at home, with increased risk of domestic violence due to extended shared time between victims and offenders. Evidence on domestic violence in times of pandemic is lacking. This study examines the occurrence of domestic violence, associated factors and help seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was conducted in Portugal between April and October 2020 by NOVA National School of Public Health. The survey was disseminated through partner networks, media, and institutions working within the scope of violence. Data were collected on the experience of domestic violence, and help seeking during the pandemic. In a total of 1,062 respondents, 146 (13.7%) reported having suffered domestic violence during the pandemic, including psychological (13.0%, n = 138), sexual (1.0%, n = 11), and physical (0.9%, n = 10) abuse. Overall, the lower the age, the more the reported domestic violence. Also, a higher proportion of participants who perceived difficulties to make ends meet during the pandemic reported domestic violence. Differences between women and men and across educational levels on reported domestic violence were not statistically significant. Bivariate logistic analyses showed that, among women, reported domestic violence was more likely among those with up to secondary education compared to higher education. Most of the victims did not seek help (62.3%), the main reasons being considering it unnecessary, that help would not change anything, and feeling embarrassed about what had happened. Only 4.3% of the victims sought police help. The most common reasons for not coming forward to form a complaint were considering the abuse was not severe and believing the police would not do anything. Our findings indicate that domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic was experienced by both sexes and across different age groups. There is a need for investing in specific support systems for victims of domestic violence to be applied to pandemic contexts, especially targeting those in more vulnerable situations and potentially underserved.

This article discusses the role that gender and age play in female crime and delinquency in Portugal, drawing on the voices of female offenders across different generations—childhood, youth, and adulthood. Based on the analysis of 49 interviews with female offenders, it explores the ways in which these girls and women construct and account for their own criminal behavior. The results reveal a kaleidoscope of changes cutting across generational groups, punctuated by increasing involvement of younger groups in offending as a form of emancipation. Young and older female offenders show different patterns of offending, which reflect multiple and ambivalent old and new forms of femininity. Girls’ and women’s paths both to and in offending have their own idiosyncrasies. They also reflect the way gender is being constantly reconfigured and reconstructed through time, and in different social and institutional contexts.

Based on the analysis of 312 children’s neighbourhood drawings and narratives, this article discusses children’s socialization in six public housing neighbourhoods in Portugal, through children’s personal accounts of their lives. It then examines their perspectives on disorder and violence. Most complained about living in their neighbourhoods, referencing how social and spatial segregation, associated with a high exposure to violence, affect them. There is a ‘normalization’ of disorder and violence, due to its intense frequency, mainly in public spaces, which has an effect on children’s socialization, especially those to whom the street is ‘the’ central place in daily life.

Youth is not a homogeneous group. With this motto in mind, YouNDigital aims to study youth, their engagement with news, and digital citizenship dynamics. One of the core elements of the project is a digital newsroom, a space for meeting and exploring digital citizenship and news, considering the significant disparities that characterise individuals in this group. In order to better understand the target groups and to support the decisions regarding the development of the youth-led digital newsroom, the research team carried out a systematic literature review focused on youth, digital citizenship, diversity, and different methodological approaches. This article explores the outcomes of the systematic literature review, particularly delving into the data gathered in one of the subclusters (Diversities). Findings underscore the challenges of inclusivity and diversity and the need for tailored media and digital literacy interventions that consider cultural differences, socioeconomic factors, and evolving technological landscapes. They also highlight the difficulties, as well as the positive results, of using digital tools and strategies to trigger learning and motivational processes for diverse audiences—digital tools that rely on media creation, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration can promote the empowerment and inclusion of youth from distinct backgrounds, bridging the gap between their realities and citizenship experiences. For research teams, the findings point out that involvement in collaborative, immersive, and participatory processes anchored on sustained literature review processes can encourage distancing preconceptions while bringing them closer to research participants. The article contributes to discussions regarding the potential and the challenges of considering youth’s diverse backgrounds through pillars such as co-creation or inclusive design, and the urgency of mitigating youth social and digital exclusion in order to enhance democratic participation.

Neste texto promove-se a discussão sobre as origens da justiça juvenil nas sociedades ocidentais destacando-se as transformações ocorridas no sistema português. A análise sobre as relações entre justiça, direitos e instituições que enformam os diplomas legais e as práticas da justiça juvenil em Portugal têm de atender à forma como se evoluiu da representação do ‘menor’ culpado e da criança vítima para a de uma justiça ‘amiga’ das crianças que enquadra, no presente, a intervenção judicial. Nenhum princípio de justiça ancorado no Direito das Crianças e dos Jovens é, por si mesmo, absoluto quando transposto para a prática judiciária pelo que é indispensável compreender a sua evolução conceptual e identificar as mudanças ao longo dos tempos.