The Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, has launched an alert message for this Christmas to avoid “that other great silent pandemic” that is violence against women.
The Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, together with the Secretary of State against Gender Violence, Ángela Rodríguez; and the Government delegate against Gender Violence, Victoria Rosell, have appeared at a press conference to report on the new mechanism for counting femicides and take stock of equality policies during 2021.
The Minister of Equality has launched an alert message for this Christmas to avoid “that other great silent pandemic” that is violence against women. “Early detection is essential. Anyone who believes that there is a woman who may suffer a situation of violence to reach out to her.” Montero has insisted that all women know “that they are not alone” and that the fight against sexist violence “is a matter of state.”
Femicides
Montero reported on the new mechanism for counting femicides that will be launched from 2022 and that will make Spain the first country in Europe to officially count all femicides. “There will be an official and institutional observatory to count femicides, sexist murders of women murdered because they are women. Naming femicides is to do justice, the most basic exercise of reparation with all victims of sexist violence.”
In this way, Montero stressed, “we are making progress in complying with the Istanbul Convention”, but above all, “we are making progress in making all forms of sexist violence visible in order to carry out the public policies necessary to eradicate them”.
The accounting of femicides will be carried out in the following categories:
- Femicide in the partner or ex-partner. Murder of a woman in the terms provided in Organic Law 1/2004, of December 28, on Comprehensive Protection Measures against Gender Violence (the sphere of the partner or ex-partner).
- Family femicide. Murder of a woman by men from her family environment.
- Sexual femicide. Murder of a woman without a partner or family relationship linked to sexual violence included in the Organic Law Project for the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom. Also including femicides related to sexual exploitation, trafficking or prostitution. Also female genital mutilation or forced marriage.
- Social femicide. Murder of a woman due to an assault, of a non-sexual nature, by a man with whom there was no relationship or family relationship (a stranger, a co-worker, a neighbour, a friend, employer, etc. ).
- Vicarious femicide. Murder of a woman or minor children, by a man as an instrument to cause injury or harm to another woman. Only women and minors (boys and girls) are collected.
Balance 2021
For her part, the Secretary of State against Gender Violence, Ángela Rodríguez, has taken stock of 2021. One year, Rodríguez said, it has been “very relevant”, placing Spain “in a vanguard and exemplary situation. of good practices for the rest of the countries “.
Rodríguez has highlighted how Spain, following the Istanbul Convention and the State Pact against Gender Violence, has updated all its tools in public and legislative policies so that “all were for all forms of violence against women.” In this sense, Rodríguez recalled that Spain is the only country that has earmarked money from the European Funds for the fight against sexist violence .
In this context, the Ministry of Equality has increased and improved, also in digital terms, all the tools that were already deployed in the fight against gender violence and has extended them to all sexual violence, also to victims of trafficking. for the purpose of sexual exploitation. In this way, “016, ATENPRO, the devices and the crisis centres, have become tools that serve all victims of violence. Without a doubt, a historic milestone.”
Rodríguez also highlighted the Plan for the Improvement and Modernisation against Gender Violence, which he has announced, will culminate in the next few days with the sending to the different autonomous communities of an orientation guide that will serve “to update all protocols on violence against women. gender”. Rodríguez also recalled the Violet Points that have been deployed throughout Spain as an important point of the Modernization Plan, to which various entities and companies have joined.
Finally, the Secretary of State explained the measures adopted during this year with regard to equality between men and women, such as the Co-Responsible Plan , the launch of the Care Table and the tool for equal pay .
Sexist violence and 016
For her part, the Government delegate against Gender Violence, Victoria Rosell, has reported on sexist violence in the last month, as well as the data of the helpline for all forms of violence against women 016 .
In November a woman was murdered and so far in December five women have been murdered, reaching the number of 42 women murdered in 2021 and 1,124 since 2003.
In November, three minors were orphaned by gender violence and two so far in December. The number of minors orphaned by gender violence in Spain thus rises to 28 in 2021 and 334 since 2013. No minor has been murdered or murdered by gender violence during the month of November, while in December a minor was murdered, rising to six in 2021 and 45 since 2013, the number of minors killed by gender violence in Spain.
Regarding the data of the 016 service, the number of pertinent calls from November 1 to 30, 2021 has been 7,274, while the number of pertinent calls from October 1 to 31, 2021 was 7,680. This represents a difference in absolute value of 406 relevant calls less in November 2021 than in October 2021, and in percentage, a decrease of 5.29%.
The number of relevant online inquiries from November 1 to 30, 2021 was 93, while the number of relevant online inquiries from October 1 to October 31, 2021 was 138. This represents a difference in absolute value from 45 relevant inquiries online less in November 2021 than in October 2021, and in percentage, a decrease of 32.61%.
Finally, the number of pertinent queries by WhatsApp from November 1 to 30, 2021 has been 481, while the number of pertinent queries by WhatsApp from October 1 to 31, 2021 was 570. This represents a difference in value Absolute 89 relevant WhatsApp queries less in November 2021 than in October 2021, and in percentage, a decrease of 15.61%.
