The Amposta courts have opened the first victim care room suitable for inmates from the Center for Reintegration Initiatives (CIRE).
In reality, it is the fourth installation of this type in the Catalan courts, designed to guarantee the support and attention of the victim throughout the judicial process, preventing them from coinciding with the alleged aggressors and generating "re-victimization".
As a result of the result of the Amposta project, the Department of Justice has already commissioned the CIRE to enable rooms in the 42 judicial buildings in Catalonia before the summer of 2025.
The idea, according to counselor Gemma Ubasart, is to make better care for victims compatible with the reintegration of inmates.
"It responds to a basic demand. It cannot be that the courts do not have special rooms set up for victims and that they have to resort to small and unequipped rooms, with the risk that they may coincide with the aggressor inside the court. This constitutes an obvious factor of revictimization, which we must work to avoid," Ubasart pointed out.
In fact, the room is aimed mainly at victims of sexist violence, to offer them "maximum attention and comfort", but it is also designed for any other victim, according to the Ministry.
In the case of Terres de l'Ebre, of the 2,260 victims -2,044 women and 216 men- recorded in 2022 by the Victim Assistance Office, 60% were due to cases of gender violence -the same percentage as in all of Catalonia.-
The one in Amposta is the fourth to be installed in judicial buildings in the country. The goal is to cover 42 judicial buildings across the country by the summer of 2025.
The next ones to be executed will be in Balaguer, Lleida, La Seu d'Urgell, Reus and El Vendrell. The CIRE will be in charge of carrying out the new installations. In the case of Amposta, the work has been carried out by a team of twelve people - including interns and technical staff - who are part of the Raimat exterior and eaves delta services of the CIRE.
The inmates have worked on the assembly of the vertical artificial garden, the painting and coating of walls, vertical walls and steel doors, installation of lighting as well as hangers, stools, benches, tables and blackboards.
As a result of the "good results" achieved in the Amposta case, the Department will replicate the model to the rest of the pending courts.
"We wanted the CIRE to be in charge of enabling these spaces because we are aware of the importance of work and occupational training to offer a second chance to inmates and thus ensure labor and community reintegration," defended Ubasart.
The first of the victim care rooms in Catalonia came into operation in the Cornellà de Llobregat courts last March.
Since then, they have been installed in Esplugues de Llobregat and Mataró following the same model, with the idea of guaranteeing homogeneous environmental, functional and decorative characteristics throughout the country.
With a budget of 430,000 euros, the Plan for the Adaptation and Improvement of Spaces and Uses for Victim Care of the Department of Justice focuses on the adaptation of physical spaces, the improvement of internal routes for victims and detainees, and recommendations for protocols to ensure that victims feel accompanied, protected and well cared for.
