A decapitated Colombian and the serious panorama of sexist violence in Spain

Natalia traveled from Valle del Cauca to Spain five years ago with the illusion of starting a new life that would allow her to help her two twenty-something children. She had studied Nursing in the country and in his new destination, Andalusia, she found work in cleaning and childcare services.

He lived in Marbella, the southern coastal area that Spaniards with purchasing power prefer to spend vacations. Y Her dream trip ended in her worst nightmare on January 8, when her ex-partner murdered her.

Natalia’s body appeared on a beach, decapitated and without hands (apparently they found them later). Three days later, her ex-boyfriend, Leonel, also Colombian, confessed to the crime. He is now in prison.

They had met last summer and she had broken up in November. He did not like her decision and she continued to harass her. In December he headbutted her on the nose, for which she had reported him.

Leonel broke the restraining order that had been imposed on him as a condition to suspend the six months in prison of the initial sentence. He had to respect the required distance and not commit any crime. He breached both conditions.

(Also read: Spain: they seek to amend the law that allowed the release of sexual offenders)

Natalia is one of the six women murdered for sexist violence so far this year in Spain, according to the Government. An even more chilling figure when added to the eight that occurred in December of last year alone. According to the Ministry of Equality, in 2022 there were 49 women who died in Spain at the hands of their partners or ex-partners, one more than in 2021. In total, there are 1,188 fatalities due to gender violence since 2003, when they began keep records.

The outlook in Colombia is no better. With the murder of DJ Valentina Trespalacios, there are at least nine women fatalities of gender violence in 2023 and last year there were 614 cases, according to the Colombian Femicide Observatory.

Despite all the efforts in Spain, they fail to put an end to the scourge of sexist murders. In September of last year, some applause was heard, when the figures showed a significant drop, but the rebound in December silenced them.

Women continue to be victims, despite campaigns, legal measures, official aid services and police actions.

(You may be interested: A young man in Spain stabbed his mother-in-law because his girlfriend asked him to; he is unimputable)

Background Information

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced a novel measure: notify potential victims about the history of gender violence of their partners. The initiative has not been without controversy because it could violate the fundamental rights related to the privacy of man.

The Ministry of the Interior consulted the Violence Against Women Prosecutor’s Office, which responded with the warning that it cannot be carried out in a systematic and general way. It could only be communicated if there is a high risk of aggression, which would be assessed when there is a previous criminal conviction.

Minister Grande-Marlaska assured that he is working with the State Attorney’s Office in this direction and that he will prepare the action protocol, especially in persistent cases: convicted persons with a high probability of attacking again and that they do so earlier in the day. the relationship. “There is a greater and objective risk that the new violence will be more serious and materialize in a shorter space of time,” he said.

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The proposal has received support. “Who is going to be against finding a way to notify a woman that the man she has just met may end up being the last person she knows?” Asked the writer Carmen Domingo in an article by The country.

Regardless of the possibility of reporting a history of aggressors, Minister Grande-Marlaska also met with those responsible for gender violence in the security forces to discuss the recent accumulation of cases.

speed in justice

Jordi Nieva-Fenoll, professor at the University of Barcelona, ​​believes that measures are needed in the field of justice.

In particular, it refers to the creation of courts that act quickly against attacks. “We have become accustomed to the fact that complaints, lawsuits and lawsuits are filed, and they almost always spend several months collecting dust in a court or prosecutor’s office until finally those responsible have a material possibility to attend to them, due to the immense accumulation of matters,” points.

And, although he understands that sometimes the delay is justified, this is not the case with crimes of gender violence, when the proceedings are scarce.

The solution lies in reducing the investigation phase and in specializing some judges, other than the investigation ones, who collect traces and protect the victims, but do not judge.

Measures against machismo

Spain has not stood idly by in the face of sexist violence. The country can present political polarization and different positions around the different social aspects, but it is united against it.

In 2017 the Parliamentary Groups, the Autonomous Communities and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces ratified the State Pact against Gender Violence, a central axis that unites institutions, organizations and experts, with the aim of combating the scourge.

The Ministry of Equality, through the Government Delegation against Gender Violence, offers a package of aid and protection measures for women in danger, ranging from financial contributions and collaboration for changes of residence to granting work authorization for foreigners.

(Keep reading: The femicide of Angie Díaz: the Latina murdered by her American boyfriend)

There is also telephone number 016, which receives calls related to gender violence, from which information, legal advice and psychological and social care are offered.

On the other hand, the State Observatory on Violence against Women, an inter-ministerial body, advises, evaluates and prepares reports and proposals for action to eradicate femicides.

And there are other practical measures, such as telematic control devices, which, when there are restraining orders, warn if the accused does not respect the established distance. Or the Alertcops application, which sends a signal to the security forces with geolocation.

Despite all efforts, however, femicides in Spain continue.

Authorities and experts agree that, apart from independent measures, campaigns and aid in various aspects, the formula is education and the consolidation of a social awareness of the problem.

Marisol Rojas, a psychologist specializing in sexist violence, thinks that we should all be prepared to help, just as we help in traffic accidents. “Macho violence occurs in the privacy of the home, so, as a society, we have to remain vigilant,” she says. “And if we know that a woman can be a victim of sexist violence, care for her and help.”

The Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, summed it up like this in a trill she emitted before the murders at the beginning of the year: “Review every possibility of improvement and coordination until avoiding them all. But we will not end sexist violence if we do not end machismo : education, prevention and feminism until there is not one less”.

They are called to a society that rises up in rallies and claims against murders due to gender violence, but that has not yet won the fight against them.

JUANITA SAMPER OSPINA
FOR THE TIME
MADRID