Catalan Pact fights gender-based violence with 32 new initiatives

The government has officially approved the new Catalan Pact Against Gender-Based Violence (Pacte Català contra les Violències Masclistes), an agreement to build consensus in the political and social spheres, including with trade unions, to "fortify" both institutional policies and civil society's efforts to eradicate this type of violence. 

Within this framework, 32 concrete measures were approved on Tuesday, driven by the Department of Equality and Feminisms, addressing situations in the private sphere, as well as in areas such as, health, culture, leisure, and sports. 

One of the standout measures is the opening of four new Specialized Intervention Services (SIEs), one in each region of Catalonia. These will offer 24-hour assistance and support, including virtual care, government spokesperson Sílvia Paneque explained. 

Broad consensus needed 

The minister emphasized that gender-based violence affects fundamental rights, arguing therefore that there must be "not only political momentum but also a broad social, institutional, and political consensus to accompany the implementation of the pact." 

The four new SIEs will join the seventeen already in existence. The expansion is expected to continue over the coming years. 

Additionally, a new SIE will be opened to address digital violence, providing specialized support for women who need it. It will also advise other staff in the gender-based violence services network. 

Another measure is the creation of specialized support services and resources for all girls, women, and their children who are victims or survivors of less visible forms of violence, such as female genital mutilation, forced marriages, and human trafficking.  

Women's Commissioner 

The government has also given more details on the creation of a Women's Commissioner to address gender-based violence and sexual assault, which interior minister Núria Parlon previously announced.

The Women's Commissioner will monitor official complaints and provide support for victims. 

New judicial facilities will also be designed, and existing ones will be rethought with the goal of putting victims and their children at the center, keeping aggressors and victims separated.

Furthermore, there is a commitment to digitalizing the courts, as well as designing and implementing programs to prevent suicide among women in prison. 

Health training and awareness plan 

In the educational field, the government plans to continue rolling out the role of the coordinator of coeducation, student wellbeing, and coexistence (COCOBE), and also reinforce the Support Unit for Students in Situations of Violence. 

In the health field, a training and awareness plan will be created for health professionals, including managers. Additionally, actions for the care, prevention, and early detection of gender-based violence will be promoted within various community groups. 

Guidelines will be developed for the prevention and management of gender-based violence in other areas, such as the audiovisual sector, in traditional and cultural events, and in the performing arts and live music sectors. 

Protocols and documents on sexual harassment and gender-based violence in sports will also be updated, and a commission against gender-based violence at sports events will be created. 

Professionals in gender-based violence care and support services will see their salaries improved and specialized training programs will also be designed for them.  

Economically, the government will continue providing grants to local entities and organizations for projects on prevention and awareness, as well as projects aimed at integrating women experiencing gender-based violence into the workplace.  

The government has also approved an Institutional Statement for November 25 – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – with the title: 'We want free and safe spaces, we want everyone's involvement.' 

Government calls on men to break the silence 

In their campaign for November 25, the Department of Equality and Feminism is also calling on men specifically to break their "silence" and "complicity."

Under the slogan 'Silence is Violence,' the campaign's goal, as explained on Monday by minister Eva Menor, is to "appeal to society as a whole, but especially to men who feel uncomfortable with machismo," encouraging them to position themselves as "agents of change." 

The campaign, Menor said, does not seek to "blame" men, but to make them "feel responsible for change." 

"Without blaming them," Menor emphasized, it is "easier" to have men as "allies" in the fight against violence towards women, both in terms of reporting it and preventing it. 

The campaign includes four posters featuring three men and one woman witnessing a scene of male violence. The objective, Menor explained, is to get society involved in reporting cases and "not look the other way" when witnessing an assault. 

More than half of young men say feminism "has gone too far" 

Recent opinion polls reveal skepticism within a part of Catalan society toward feminism, especially apparent in young men. 

The latest survey on values by the CEO (Centre for Opinion Studies) showed that 32% of Catalans – and more than half of men aged 16 to 24 – believe that feminism "has gone too far" in the fight for equality. 

In statements to the Catalan News Agency (ACN), the Minister for Equality and Feminism, Eva Menor, lamented that a "denialist message about women's inequality has taken hold," and advocated for challenging those beliefs with data on existing gender-based violence. 

"There is one certainty, and that is that we have not gone too far," Menor argued, although she did point out the need to adopt "language that addresses all of society." 

In another study by the CEO published last week, less than half of men aged 16 to 24 believed that feminism "promotes a more just and democratic society." 

According to the same survey, more people in this age group (and also those aged 35-49) identify as non-feminists than those who consider themselves feminists (45%). 

Only half of young men between the ages of 16 and 24 believe that feminism is about equality, much lower than the average perception across society, which is 75%. 

Asked about what these and other recent opinion surveys reveal, Menor told ACN that every time the feminist movement has achieved great milestones, a "reactionary movement has emerged against these advances." 

The minister attributes the findings to the rise of the far right and "the very clear strategy of penetration into certain media outlets and social networks – where young people consume information – to spread the denialist discourse about gender-based violence and inequality between men and women." 

"Unfortunately, this message has taken hold," she admits. 

"If we ignore the data" on gender-based violence, the first thing we are doing is having a flat-earth attitude in the face of the evidence," Menor warned.

"The second thing that we're doing, from my point of view even more dangerous and more significant, is that we are putting women in danger."