The summer of 2023 has been one of the most tragic in terms of sexist violence in the last 20 years. Up to 16 women have been killed. Between July and August, 40% of the 40 deaths have been registered so far this year, and the figure once again confirms that the seasonal factor increases the risk of suffering gender violence, an argument put forward by the Ministry of Equality to explain the figure and that the ex-delegate of the Government against Gender Violence, Miguel Lorente, has also argued to Europa Press.
The Ministry of Equality has convened the crisis committee for next Monday to analyze the six crimes due to gender violence that have occurred in August.
In July and August there have been eight crimes each month, although the last one is still pending official confirmation by the Government Delegation after a retired policeman who had been entrenched since Wednesday morning in Alzira (Valencia) ) allegedly killed his ex-wife and then took his own life. "It can be one of the most serious (of the summer)," says Lorente. Also this week a man was arrested after murdering his 36-year-old partner in Béjar (Salamanca).
The figures for these months are the highest in the entire year 2023, since until now it was January, the month in which there is also a holiday period for Christmas, the month that registered the highest number of cases, with a total of seven. The rest of the months of the year register lower figures, such as February and March, with two deaths, April and June, with four, and May, with five.
To reach data such as those registered up to this August 31, it is necessary to go back to 2018, when 16 women died due to gender violence in July and August. Also in 2003 there were 16 murders in those two months, while 2006 was the year with the most fatalities, 17.
According to Lorente, the seasonal factors that take place in seasons such as summer or Christmas occur around coexistence, a moment in which "in a more direct way it can affect the perception that the aggressor has of what control of the woman".
Regarding the ages of the victims, who were mostly between 31 and 40 years old, Lorente maintains that there is a greater incidence in the age in which the response and the conflicts acquire a greater intensity. “These are nuances that we have to consider, but they are not the factors that define violence,” he concludes.
