Catalan police receive 1,910 reports of sexual assault in first six months of year

Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, received 1,910 reports of sexual assault during the first six months of the year, according to data from Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Safety.

The figure is a little more than half of all reports of sexual assault filed in 2023 (3,686).

More than a quarter of the reports were filed with police in Barcelona.

Baix Empordà-Sant Feliu de Guíxols – on the Costa Brava – is the policing area with the highest incidence of reports per capita: 35.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.

In Catalonia as a whole, for the first six months of the year, the ratio is around 23 reports per 100,000 inhabitants.

Reports of gender-based violence involving a partner grew by 3% between 2023 and the first 10 months of 2024, with a 5.1% increase in reports of sexual violence.

Gender-based violence

Meanwhile, the Catalan Health System detected 10,805 cases of gender-based violence against women in 2023, which is 5.22% more than the previous year (10,240).

Women in the age group 15-44 made up two thirds of cases (67.6%), while those aged 45-64 made up almost one quarter (23.3%).

Barcelona's Clínic Hospital treated 624 people for sexual violence between January and October 31, 2024, 88% of whom were women.

November 25 is the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The day was marked by the Catalan government, Barcelona City Council, and Barcelona Regional Council at a joint event in Barcelona on Monday.