Assaults on prison staff rise in Catalonia, with 555 incidents reported in 2024

A total of 555 prison staff members were attacked in Catalan prisons in 2024, according to a report by the prison staff platform Marea Blava, based on official data.

This figure marks a slight increase compared to previous years: 541 attacks were reported in 2023 and 536 in 2022.

Of the 555 attacks, 46 resulted in serious injuries, 112 caused minor injuries, while 397 staff members were not injured.

The platform warns that these incidents of violence against prison staff represent a "disgrace embedded in prisons."

One alarming trend in 2024 was the rise in sexual assaults on prison workers, with 25 incidents reported.

This figure represents a significant increase, as just five years ago, such assaults were virtually "nonexistent," according to the platform.

The report specifies that these assaults involve "sexual motives, non-consensual acts, with physical contact or explicit sexual behavior, with or without the display of genital areas."

In 2020, no such assaults were recorded, and only a few occurred in 2022 and 2023. However, in 2024, the number rose to 25.

The platform emphasizes the "difficulties faced by women working in prisons" and highlights that these assaults are merely the "tip of the iceberg," reflecting a broader issue of verbal aggression rooted in gender-based motives.

In terms of inmate violence, more than 1,600 attacks were registered, the majority of which were minor, though 42 were severe.

Last year, 11 inmates committed suicide, with 122 suicide attempts, 73 overdoses, 548 hunger strikes, and 107 instances of fires being deliberately set.

This new data comes after a prison worker was killed by an inmate at Mas d'Enric prison in the Tarragona region in March 2024.

The killing triggered significant protests across Catalan prisons, with prison staff staging blockades and leaving many inmates confined for hours.

Prison staff members have long denounced the significant rise in violent episodes against them over the past seven years.

Marea Blava also notes that the majority of workers assaulted are those in charge of guarding, with approximately 17% of them experiencing an assault each year.