The autonomous communities will have six more months to open the crisis centers for victims of sexual violence required by the ‘only yes means yes’ law. The deadline to launch these resources – at least one per province – ended on December 31 after having approved one more extension, but now it is extended until June 2, as reported by the Ministry of Equality, which has negotiated with the European Commission extends it since the money to open the centers comes from European recovery funds.
The department led by Ana Redondo explains that “a flexibility in deadlines has been achieved” with the intention that the communities “have more margin to justify the credits.” “The final objective is for the centers to have the structure and the minimum services required by current legislation,” adds the ministry, which still alludes to the fact that “the bulk” of these 24-hour resources “will be open before end of the year.”
Until this Tuesday, only about twenty centers were open and more than half were still missing two weeks before the deadline. This despite the fact that the Ministry of Equality distributed 83 million euros between 2021, 2022 and 2023 for this. This is the second extension requested: the initial objective was for the centers to be operational on January 1, 2024, but a month before there were only four and the European Commission ended up being asked for an extension of one more year.
The extension of the deadline will take place in an extraordinary Sectoral Conference to be held on December 23, in which Equality will “formalize” the agreement with the communities, which have stepped on the accelerator and are launching the centers these days ‘in extremis ‘ to try to arrive on time on December 31.
Galicia will open the five planned “in the coming days”, as well as the one in Logroño in La Rioja or the four planned in Extremadura, where “small details of the works are being finalized.” The government of Castilla-La Mancha also has warned that the one in Toledo will begin to operate “at the end of this week or next week at the latest”, just like the one in Zaragoza or the centers in Andalusia.
However, it is not just a matter of the centers opening their doors, but rather they must meet the required standards, something that is not being met in all cases. It is the Organic Law of Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom that includes the measure with the objective of creating an emergency care network for victims of sexual violence. They are designed to provide urgent and permanent care to victims of sexual violence: they must be open in person and by telephone 24 hours a day, 365 days and have multidisciplinary teams that provide psychological, legal and social care in a coordinated manner.
However, in some cases such as Murcia or Logroño, in-person attention does not extend throughout the day. Furthermore, it is one thing for the centers to open and another for them to come into operation: In Castilla y León, for example, it is expected that all of them will open on time, and in fact the one in Valladolid has already been inaugurated, but the association that is going to be in charge of its management has to be moved and is not yet active. In the Canary Islands, the tender for the purchase of five properties to house the centers was abandoned and a month ago their direct acquisition was announced, but nothing further has emerged.
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