Third rape in four days as protests continue in Gràcia

Two days after condemning the rape of a girl at the Festa Major de Gràcia, feminist organizations once again led protests against gender-based violence on Thursday. 

Since the initial protests, two further cases of rape have come to light. Yesterday a woman claimed that she had been sexually assaulted on Tuesday at the Festa Major, and another woman was allegedly attacked when she got home in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Sources are investigating potential links between the three cases, especially between the initial case on Sunday and the most recent on Thursday morning, which allegedly occurred at very similar times and very close to one another. 

However, police are treating the three cases as separate - in fact, Catalan police have not yet received a complaint regarding the most recent of the cases, even though they are aware of it.

Feminist organizations have called together the demonstrations, sending a message of “rejection and anger towards sexist violence.” 

One of the protestors stressed that every woman should have the right “to go out whenever and wherever we want.” 

Sonsoles Sentís, from the work organization on the Protocol for tackling sexist aggression at the Festa Major, was one of the women to read the manifesto to condemn the three cases of sexual assault. 

The manifesto read: “At Gràcia, gender-based violence is not tolerated, nor any form of behaviour that limits the way women are allowed to enjoy the festival freely, nor do we allow this type of behaviour to be excused under the premise of alcohol and partying, because nothing excuses rape.”

She has called for “pedagogy and awareness, on institutional, social and media levels.” The protestors also reminded everyone of the importance of reporting events, reasserting that “if you are silent, you are an accomplice.” 

According to Ara newspaper, in the first six months of 2019, there were 101 cases of rape claims in Barcelona. This is down 14.4% from 118 in this same time period last year.