Gender-based violence helpline receives 9,500 calls between January and August 

The Equality and Feminism Department's helpline - 900 900 120 - for women facing gender-based violence received 9,500 calls between January and August this year, 16% more than in the same period in 2022, or 1,300 more calls. 

Over the summer, when the risk of suffering sexist violence rises due to increased cohabitation, 3,700 calls were made, almost 10% more than in the previous year. 

In 80% of cases, the caller was the victim, in 17% of cases it was a family member, and in 3% of cases, a public service professional. 

Recent additions to the helpline service include initial psychological care and legal advice. 

85% of cases involved partner 

According to the department, in 85% of the cases dealt with, the violence was carried out by a partner, in 6.4% of cases it took place within the family sphere, and in 5.8% of cases, within the socio-community sphere. 

The most frequent form of violence was psychological, followed by physical. 

An increase in the duration of calls was also observed in 2023. More than half of calls were categorized as long, lasting between 15 and 30 minutes. 

"More awareness" 

The Minister for Equality and Feminism, Tània Verge, attributed the increase in calls to greater knowledge of the services available. 

The figures show that the improvement in social and institutional support "makes it easier for women to take that step of asking for help, and they also indicate that there is more awareness in general when it comes to detecting situations where gender-based violence is occurring," she said. 

Verge highlighted the importance of everyone in society taking part in the fight against gender-based violence and said that "one call can save lives." 

"Anyone can call at the slightest sign of gender-based violence," she emphasized. 

Free and confidential 

The helpline is free and confidential and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in 124 languages, including Catalan, Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Romanian, Croatian and Chinese. 

Among improvements that have been implemented, the helpline has started to offer direct psychological care to victims from a trained professional specialized in gender-based violence, part of the reason why the calls have started to last longer. 

In addition, depending on the situation and the needs of the victim, initial legal advice can be provided.