Marcío Laranjeira: Domestic violence – the long road to freedom

A film made for cinemas is especially original because it forms part of an upcoming mini-series about refuges for women suffering domestic violence. The violence may have stopped but the feelings of loss of personal space and even identity are new challenges to be grappled with in unfamiliar surroundings. Solidarity and resolution take time.

Many countries recognize the need for women to have safe accommodation away from a violent partner, where they can gain some equilibrium, recover from the loss of respect, and develop some solidarity with other women, while often slow-moving legal processes continue. That there are not enough places available goes without saying, especially now that politicians are ruthlessly cutting social services to reduce taxes for the rich.

If you have not experienced this journey, or are not a social worker you may imagine a refuge as a place of blessed relief, but the reality is that the struggle continues – how could it not?

Marcio Laranjeira’s powerful film is unique in being a preview of a mini-series that will be shown on both Portuguese and Spanish TV networks this year and deserves the widest possible distribution. Instead of focusing on scenes of violence in the home, it looks at the issues involved in recovery, recovery of safety, and identity.

The first episode shows a woman obliged to leave her home – while her husband is free to carry on with his life – feeling intensely alone and disoriented to be suddenly moving to an unfamiliar temporary home, forming new relationships, and losing her sense of personal space. Conflicts may develop over small things and solidarity takes time.

 Places vary in terms of the psychological support and therapy they provide, and there is often the fear that the violent partner may somehow find out the location. Separation from children also brings anxiety.

 I spoke to Marcio for The Prisma after his film Casa Abrigo (Refuge home) was shown at the IndieLisboa film festival recently.

The trailer can be viewed here.

 The interview was first published in The Prisma Multicultural Newspaper, and can be read in full with film stills here:

https://theprisma.co.uk/2025/05/26/domestic-violence-the-long-road-to-freedom/

and in Spanish here:

https://theprisma.co.uk/es/2025/05/26/violencia-domestica-el-largo-camino-hacia-la-libertad/