Citizens mobilize against gender violence

Since the start of the new year, there have already been several demonstrations to condemn gender violence. The protests follow a recent, especially aggression suffered by a woman near the train station in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, near Barcelona. The woman was raped by a man who has not still been arrested by police. Another woman was killed by his partner at the end of 2017. She was the last and seventh victim of gender violence against women last year. 

Following the violation of a woman in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, citizens took to the streets and mobilized en masse to show their rejection of gender violence. Hundreds of people attended a demonstration in Mataró, the home town of the victim, near Barcelona.

Summoned by a women's association, they gathered in front of the town council’s building in order to show their support for the woman who was raped and to reject the aggression she suffered. Before that demonstration, another one was held in the town where the rape took place, in Sant Andreu de Llavaneres.

A “social change” is needed

For its part, the mayor of Mataró also showed his support for the victim and said that “social change” is needed to eradicate gender violence and to achieve equality between men and women. In fact, the town councils of Mataró and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres have already stated that they will take part in the proceeding.

7 cases of femicide in 2017

Seven women were killed in cases of gender violence last year and 12,000 complaints were filed up until November. Of the murdered women, only two had previously filed a complaint for gender violence. According to the figures released by the Catalan Institute of Women, the average age of the women killed in 2017 was 47 years old and 30% of them had dependent children.

Regarding the complaints filed for gender violence, 82.5% suffered gender violence within their relationships, and 17.5% within the family sphere. As a consequence, 4,146 men had been arrested and 12,399 women aided.