LISBON, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 21 women have been killed in Portugal since the beginning of 2018 in cases of domestic violence or violence in intimate relationships, more than the number of the whole of last year, according to the country's Observatory of Murdered Women on Thursday.

Twenty-one women had been killed by their former or current partners or by their close family members by Sept. 12, the Union of Women for Alternatives and Answers (UMAR) said, citing figures gathered by its Observatory of Murdered Women.

Contrary to what has happened with the murder, in which there has been a decreasing trend, the numbers of femicide have remained constant, Elisabete Brasil, head of UMAR was quoted by Portuguese Lusa News Agency as saying.

"It's still too early to talk about the total number, but we have already confirmed 21 women and this is brutal considering we are in September and we already have the same level of deaths from last year," she said.

Figures from last year's report of UMAR revealed that at least 20 women were killed in the cases of domestic violence. Brasil said that levels of violence and the suffering inflicted on victims had also increased.

She blamed the political figures and the general public for what she described as "silence" on the deaths caused by domestic violence.