It is not being an easy summer in Andalusia in terms of gender violence. The region already accounts for 15 women murdered at the hands of their partners or ex-partners, the latest cases, one from Seville and another from Villanueva del Arzobispo (Jaén), today added to this complicated statistic. So far this year, from January 1 to September 4, 2023, the number of murders in the region, a total of 15, exceeds that registered last year (11) and equals the number of total victims in 2019, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Equality consulted by this newspaper.
These figures are dangerously close to those of the women who lost their lives due to this scourge in 2010 and 2011, when 17 sexist crimes were recorded. 2006 was the darkest year in Andalusia since these records exist, when up to 21 fatalities were added in 12 months.
It was this morning when the Government Delegation against Gender Violence determined that the last two murders of women in Andalusian territory were added to the statistics of crimes due to gender violence.
This is a 52-year-old woman from the Jaen municipality of Villanueva del Arzobispo, whose body was found on September 2 along with that of her husband, both with stab wounds. The victim, who did not have children, had not filed any complaint against her partner for gender violence.
On the other hand, on September 3, another 46-year-old woman was murdered by her ex-partner in Seville, leaving two adult children orphaned. There were no previous complaints either. This has become the third case recorded in Seville in 2023, while the victim in Jaén would be the first.
"It hurts me that two new cases of sexist violence have been confirmed in Andalusia. The response to this cruel reality involves all of us. Let's continue to influence awareness and help the victims," said the president of the Board, Juanma Moreno , through a message on his profile on X (formerly Twitter), in which he has also shown his affection for the families of the two murdered women.
For her part, the acting Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, and the Government delegate against Gender Violence, Victoria Rosell, have expressed "their absolute condemnation and rejection" of these sexist murders and have transferred all their support to relatives and friends of the victims. Both the minister and the delegate call for all efforts from the institutions, administrations and society as a whole to "arrive on time and avoid more deaths".
The delegate of the Government of Spain in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, for his part, has asked that "all together we firmly combat the questioning of the fight against gender violence because we cannot afford these devastating and very painful figures in a democratic society like the our".
Finally, the Minister of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality, Loles López, has shown her "most absolute condemnation", at the same time that she has conveyed "all her support and affection" to the families and relatives of the victims. In addition, she has expressed "her pain and indignation of her" in these cases and has pointed out "despite all Andalusian society is enormous after a particularly terrible summer." "We cannot tolerate or get used to living with this scourge that has taken the lives of more than 250 women in Andalusia since 2003," she insisted. Likewise, there are 422 orphaned minors since 2013, 86 in Andalusia.
Juan Espadas, general secretary of the PSOE of Andalusia, also regretted the situation and registered an initiative in Parliament in order to create a working group made up of experts "to review protocols, strategies, measures and whatever is necessary" to put an end to this scourge
For his part, Toni Valero, coordinator of IU Andalucía, has asked the Government of the Junta to assume a "proactive role" in the fight against gender violence, considering that the protection policy is being "failed". In addition, he has alluded to hate speech and denialism as an added problem of this scourge, which already leaves "the highest number of fatalities-that has occurred in the last decade at this time of the year."
With the confirmation of these two cases in the provinces of Seville and Jaén, the number of women murdered by gender violence in Spain has increased to 42 in 2023 and to 1,226 since 2003, when these data began to be collected.
Telephone 016, online consultations via email 016-online@igualdad.gob.es, the WhatsApp channel at number 600 000 016 and the online chat, accessible from the website, continue to function normally 24 hours a day. Every day of the week.
On the other hand, in an emergency situation you can call 112 or the emergency numbers of the National Police (091) and the Civil Guard (062). If it is not possible to make a call and in a dangerous situation, you can use the Alertcops application, from which an alert signal will be sent to the police with geolocation. These means of assistance can be activated by the victim and also by any person who knows or suspects a case of gender violence.
