Catalan government's new plan boosts support for victims of gender-based violence

The Catalan government has launched a new plan to increase psychological support for victims of gender-based violence.

As part of this initiative, emergency and face-to-face psychiatric care will be expanded with a team of 33 psychologists who will be able to reach any place in Catalonia within a maximum of two hours and will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

On Thursday, the Equality Minister, Tània Verge, presented the new Crisis Intervention Service (SIC) program, which was launched in 2008 but received a major boost this year with a budget of €1.2 million.

Verge emphasized the key role of the SIC in "minimizing the impact of the crisis situation" for women and in "alleviating psychological disorders in the medium and long term."

The minister stressed that the new system "ensures" that all women, regardless of their location, are guaranteed immediate psychological assistance.

The new service, which is aimed at all those affected by gender-based violence emergencies, has a capacity of 560 interventions per year.

Cecília Gelpí, one of the psychologists working on the new program, explained the importance of early intervention in cases of gender-based violence.

"The first hours are considered the most important to prevent later mental health effects," she explained.

Recently published data for 2021 shows that 79.3% of women in Catalonia have experienced some form of male violence in their lives, with 65.2% reporting cases of sexual violence.