Around 2,700 cases were registered in the same period in 2018.

The statistics issued by Lisbon's public prosecutor's office also show that 1,958 cases were shelved between January and March this year.

In recent months activists have taken the streets to protest domestic violence, which has already killed 12 women this year.

In 2018, 28 women in Portugal were killed through domestic violence.

Activists and experts point out that domestic violence abusers are given lenient judgements and have called for an end to victim-blaming and what they call sexist court rulings.

In 2017, a Portuguese man who attacked his wife was not sent to prison because the judge deemed - citing the Old Testament - that his reaction was somewhat reasonable because she had committed adultery.